In the mid to late 1990's, one of the technology issues getting a lot of attention during due diligence was Y2K. Today, well, today is just much more complicated.
Take this post, Next Generation Due Diligence, by Anthony Cerminaro of the Deal Attorney. Anthony's post, based on an article to which he links, has a long due diligence checklist. Frankly, the checklist goes on forever and even the article's author, Charles F. Bacon of The Due.Com Companies, concedes that it's "far from all-inclusive."
What else should corporate counsel include on a due diligence checklist? According to this post, Web 2.0 Due Diligence Tip: Check for Adsense Problems, from Devin Thorpe's Mid Market Maven, you should add "check for adsense problems when buying websites" to your list. You don't see that phrase on too many due diligence checklists, do you?
So, what’s the lesson? You can't conduct due diligence in a vacuum. It must at all times be driven by business realities. Otherwise, you're wasting your time and your client's hard-earned cash.
Update: As initially drafted, this post may have inadvertently created the impression that the article discussed in Anthony Cerminaro's post was written by Anthony himself. It wasn't. Charles F. Bacon, CEO of The Due.Com Companies, wrote it. My apologies to Mr. Bacon and my readers for any confusion.
