Legal Due Diligence Audit

Legal Due Diligence Audit: Everything you need to know

At Enterslice, we understand that the advancement in technology has brought massive changes in the global business landscape, making it very complex for organizations to stay compliant with the constant changes in the various laws and regulations. It is, therefore, very important for the company to conduct a legal due diligence audit through professionals for better efficiency in the company's operations. A legal due diligence audit is necessary for the companies to conduct to prevent high risk, legal penalties, and non-compliance while performing a merger and acquisition, partnership agreement, new venture investment, etc.

Enterslice is a consultancy company comprising various services like legal advisory, legal, due diligence audit, audit, assurance, etc. We shall assist the respective organizations in complying with various laws and regulations by conducting legal, due diligence audits. However, legal and due diligence services also evaluate or examine the company's licenses, corporate leases, ownership documents, labour laws, etc., for running various operations smoothly.

A legal, due diligence audit ensures that the company entering into various contracts is aligned with the stringent contract laws and regulations within the stipulated jurisdictions. If you are looking for a professional in legal, due diligence audit, choose us to serve you the best services as Enterslice not only provides a solution, but we craft solutions for our clients by providing the best outcome one can have for running their business operation efficiently. Thus, due diligence is an important part of the company's day-to-day business operation and plays a key role in preventing financial and legal risks. Our team will also assist the company's senior management team to understand the importance of due diligence.

What is a legal due diligence audit?

A legal, due diligence audit is a legal review that evaluates the various legal documents and information connected to companies' contracts, licenses, corporate leases, agreements, and various other related contracts that take place for the company's business operations. To avoid various legal liabilities and mitigate risk, the company shall conduct a legal due diligence audit before it becomes too late for the organization to take action upon such legal non-compliance.

For example, in a legal, due diligence audit in case of merger and acquisitions, an auditor shall collect all the relevant legal documents and information connected to the target company so that it helps both the buyer and seller to understand the amount of legal risk like lawsuits, intellectual property details before the said merger and acquisition deal is closed. Thus, a legal due diligence audit helps the respective company to make an informed decision in merger acquisition transactions.

What is the Importance of Conducting a due diligence audit?

• We assist the company in detecting and identifying potential high risks, legal liabilities, compliance rules, policies and procedures, and regulations that are connected to the company's business operations. A comprehensive legal, due diligence audit helps the company take proactive measures before it becomes complex for the respective company to work on and hence protect the interest of the organization.
• We help the company to make an informed decision by providing an extensive report and thorough due diligence analysis complying with various laws and regulations of a specific country or territory such as contract law, intellectual property rights, employment laws, regulatory compliance, and many more.
• It is indeed complex for companies to understand the legal laws and regulations of India; our service on legal due diligence audit has a team of legal professionals with a good amount of experience and knowledge to guide the company to ensure legal compliances that are essential for the efficiency in companies business operations. However, the company can prevent any legal penalties and reputational damage by conducting a legal due diligence audit service.
• Our service also includes facilitating the company's merger and acquisition transactions by assessing the company to evaluate the legal and operational aspects connected to the target companies. Thus, we shall, through a legal, due diligence audit, provide a company with a comprehensive picture of the risks and opportunities involved with the said M&A transactions.

Enterslice Checklist on Approach of Legal Due Diligence

• First, a team of experts in legal due diligence shall be assigned according to the requirements of respective organizations. Such expert professionals shall scrutinize the company's business operations, such as contract documents related to customers, supply, employees, etc., to see if they are fulfilling the legal and regulatory requirements of the specific jurisdictions.
• Secondly, we shall assess the intellectual property rights documents or contracts to check the validity and the status of the same. These intellectual property rights comprise companies' trademark licenses, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets, thus helping the respective organizations protect their intangible assets.
• Third, a legal, due diligence audit delves into the various employment and labour laws to check if the company is not in conflict with the labour laws and regulations and employee benefits and thus prevent any potential legal conflicts and liabilities of the employees for smooth functioning of the company's operations.
• Fourth, our professional team shall also evaluate the company's litigation history that may have the worst impact on the company's business functions.
• Lastly, the legal due diligence audit team shall also examine the company's financial tax statements and whether a tax has been properly filed according to the laws and regulations and thus provide comprehensive guidance on the respective company's financial health and operations.

Why is a legal due diligence audit important?

Companies often struggle to understand the stringent laws and regulations that are connected to running business operations, so to reduce such complexity, a legal due diligence audit has to be implemented by the companies to prevent potential risks associated such as intellectual property rights, legal liabilities, penalties and retention of companies' future growth plans, etc. Legal due diligence is important for identifying legal backdrops in a company's compliance program.

A legal due diligence audit examines the company's legal documentation and protects organizations from potential risks along with various contracts or agreements on corporate compliances, employment laws, and commercial laws, thus supporting the company for future growth.

Enterslice service on legal, due diligence audit ensures that a company makes informed decisions after evaluating various aspects of the company's business operations and complying with all the mandatory laws and regulations of the concerned jurisdictions.

Our professional team of legal due diligence audit shall, after reviewing the legal documentation of the company, also provide a written report on the same attached with various recommendations that are to be improved for the smooth running of the company's business operations, such as assets, tax, employment, insurance, intellectual property rights, litigation, and disputes, environment, health and safety, finance banking agreements, contracts, and trading, etc. Get in touch with the Enterslice team to maintain peace of mind in conducting the thorough, comprehensive audit.

What are the steps involved in Conducting a legal due diligence audit

The process of conducting a due diligence legal audit is as follows

• It involves evaluating or examining the applicability of various laws according to the industry in which the respective company is operating its business. Such laws are labour law, company laws, SEBI laws, employment and labour laws, and other various regulatory laws.
• Examining the respective organization charter documents.
• Identify and detect if the company is not complying with regulatory requirements and laws and thus recommend the changes to avoid legal liabilities and penalties.
• A Legal due diligence audit also determines the company’s legal actions and proceedings that are connected due to non-compliance with various laws and regulations that apply to the concerned organizations.

Challenges involved in conducting a legal due diligence

A legal due diligence audit is an extensive evaluation of various legal matters, compliances, and regulations that are connected with the business operation of the company. It is indeed important for the company to conduct such a legal due diligence audit to avoid any legal liabilities or penalties; there are various challenges while conducting such an audit. Given below are some of the challenges faced by the auditor while conducting the legal due diligence

• Legal frameworks are usually complex depending on the types of transactions the company is engaged with. Such complexity in laws and regulations is one challenge that the concerned auditor has to look into.
• Most often, a legal, due diligence audit has to meet the deadlines; such tight timing reduces the deep evaluation of the companies' legal aspects and thus overlooks the important legal compliances.
• In the case of merger and accusation legal due diligence audit, it is difficult for an auditor to get the complete information regarding the target company documentation and thus create an impediment to detecting the potential risk.
• Complying with data protection law is another challenge faced during the legal, due diligence audit service since the laws restrict the review of sensitive personal information. Thus, stringent data protection limits the auditor's access to various important information about the targeted company.
• Identifying and detecting various contract laws and regulations is time-consuming. Such contract agreements include leases, agreements, licenses, etc.
• Fulfilling the legal requirements and compliances is sometimes overwhelming due to the sheer volume of laws and regulations.
• Detecting the hidden liabilities or undisclosed legal disputes of the targeted company under the merger and acquisition transaction is another major challenge for an auditor.
• Another major challenge in legal due diligence audit is the technology laws and regulations; with the advancement in technology, various laws like cyber security, intellectual property rights, etc., have to be examined by the auditor to prevent any non-compliance penalties. However, our expert team shall assist the organization to have the best technical due diligence.
• Compliance with environmental laws and regulations is another challenge that a company has to face due to its ever-changing laws and regulations. Environmental due diligence thus requires a critical review from the concerned auditor.