Knowledge & Insights
Risk management and due diligence insights, articles, reports, and resources
EBOOKS & REPORTS
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EBOOKS & REPORTS:
Playbook
Best Practices in Due Diligence Background Checks
Background checks are a crucial part of the due diligence process—as they identify potential risks posed by a company or its personnel, laying out all the information before investors so they can make more informed decisions.
This best practices playbook is a resource to properly navigate this essential step in the due diligence process. It should equip investors with sufficient knowledge about using background checks to make well-informed decisions and provide insight as to how to best implement these practices.
Playbook
Social Media – Enhancing Due Diligence Background Checks
In today’s digital age, social media holds significant power, especially in the financial industry. An adverse online post can be shared in the blink of an eye, dragging an executive’s name through the mud and ultimately causing long-lasting reputational damage. Not only that but there are financial consequences that could ensue, such as investors pulling back. As a result, a social media analysis has become a key consideration for investment professionals during the pre-investment due diligence process.
Playbook
A Beginner’s Guide to Background Checks in Operational Due Diligence
Before making any investment decisions, it’s essential to perform comprehensive operational due diligence to prevent organizations from financially devastating consequences. However, in today’s financial environment, operational due diligence needs to dig deeper than the standard checklist and include thorough background checks. The insights gained from a background check can give firms the confidence they need to make the most informed investment decisions.
eBook
Understanding the US Legal System’s Role in Due Diligence
When it comes to pre-investment due diligence, a basic understanding of the U.S. legal system can be invaluable, particularly in regard to background checks. In the event that a red flag appears on the legal section of a background check, you are better equipped to evaluate the result and gain better insight into a potential business partner or a C-suite executive.
Report
Intelligo Risk Barometer 2022
Pre-Investment Risks Indicators and Insights
Intelligo’s annual Risk Barometer analyzes and identifies the top pre-investment risks disclosed on the background checks we ran in the past year as a reference for future due diligence and analysis. The insights are based on data from thousands of background checks on individuals who were reviewed by Intelligo’s background intelligence technology and expert analysts.
eBook
Due Diligence in a new world –
AI and automation in the post-Covid era
The COVID pandemic has changed the professional landscape in many ways. In this report, we examine how those changes have impacted the the role of pre-investment due diligence how AI-based automation can streamline the process while increasing accuracy.
Report
Linkedin Lipstick –
Who’s Lying and How to Spot It
A LinkedIn presence has become essential. But when users can change their profiles at a whim, how much can we trust what we read? We used the latest in AI-powered background checking tools to review executive LinkedIn profiles, revealing just how reliable LinkedIn profiles can be in today’s world.
Report
Political Contributions – Their role in executive due diligence and why it matters
Political contributions are never far from the headlines. The implication that political influence can be bought is always sure to stir up a Twitter storm. In this report, we explore the trends in individual political donations, why it matters for executive management, and what red flags to watch out for.
WEBCASTS:
Webcast
Understanding the US Legal System
Legal nuances and their importance for investment decisions
We take a closer look at the U.S. judicial system and highlight the importance of its nuances in the context of your decision-making process. Intelligo’s senior analysts discuss various legal cases and demonstrate the importance of a proper analysis of background reports, from differences between federal and state-level cases to the most typical securities class actions.
Webcast
Top Pre-Investment Risks Disclosed
We analyze the top risks indicators and insights
Intelligo’s Co-founder and Chief Research Officer Dana Rakovsky joins Customer Success Manager Yishai Kurtz to discuss our latest report, the Intelligo Risk Barometer 2022. Our research analyzed and identified the top pre-investment risks disclosed on the background checks we ran in the past year in the “Intelligo Risk Barometer” as a reference for future due diligence and analysis.
Webinar
The ‘Digitalization’ of Due Diligence
Technology Supporting Human Insight
Join Private Equity Wire, Intelligo and industry experts Jacob Comer, from NovaQuest Capital Management as, Dan Sullivan from Diligent Vault and Kevin Wilson from Intelligo as we explore how technology is supporting human insight for better analysis of target companies in ‘The ‘Digitalization’ of Due Diligence.
FROM THE BLOG:
How Intelligo Would Have Picked Up On The Bernie Madoff Scandal 11 Months Before His Arrest
On December 11, 2008, financier Bernie Madoff was arrested by the FBI and charged with masterminding a long-running Ponzi scheme. Madoff would gain notoriety for running the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, widely considered the largest financial fraud of all time....
How Intelligo Saw Trouble Coming For Bitwise — Months Before It Filed For Bankruptcy
Like so many tech companies, Bitwise Industries had a grand vision: to transform underserved cities with technology-based solutions. The ascendant startup had almost 1,000 employees, a bevy of impressive investors and a valuation north of $200 million — and then it...
How to Stop Others From “Faking It”- or How Due Diligence Leaders Protect Their Firms
Obviously, no one wants to be the investor that was duped. Better due diligence can save you from financial loss…and reputational risk. Here are the emerging due diligence trends you need to consider adopting…pronto.
Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs): What Investors Need to Know
Due diligence is all about risk mitigation and comprehensive knowledge about who you consider connecting yourself with—financially and in other ways. While this includes gathering information about one’s professional experience, legal history, and reputational stature, it’s also crucial to be aware of the political affiliation and exposure of a potential partner, investee, or employee for transparency and compliance.
Operational Due Diligence: 7 Essential Aspects You Need to Know
Operational due diligence is crucial for uncovering potential risks and protecting investors from financially devastating outcomes. When it comes to the pre-investment investigative process, company background checks that include these essential aspects will allow stakeholders to rest assured that their investment is in good hands.
Criminal Records on Background Checks: How They Impact Investment Decisions
The integrity of organizations and their personnel can be a key indicator of the success of a potential investment opportunity. Consequently, a criminal records search as part of a background check on possible business partners, fund managers, or a company’s executive management is a crucial part of the pre-investment due diligence process. By gaining transparency about an individual’s criminal background, you can properly consider the risks and liabilities that could impact your final investment decision.
Social Media Background Checks: Enhancing Due Diligence
The purpose of a social media background check Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms have seamlessly integrated their way into our daily lives. Today, with more than half the world using social media, it’s clear why it...
Adverse Media: Why No News Is Good News
In the world we live in today, the media controls the narrative, and thus, public opinion relies significantly on media portrayal. As a result, any news regarding an individual or company that’s presented in a negative light can have serious reputational and financial implications. This is why it is essential for due diligence background checks to cover adverse media. However, while technology has made global news more accessible and readily available, it has also made it easier than ever for fake news to spread.
Executive Background Checks: What Are Execs Hiding?
Executive management and board members stand at the helm, steering a company towards success. However, given the power and responsibility of upper-level management, investors and board members need to be sure they are placing their trust and their capital in the right hands. But how can investors know if an executive candidate is telling the truth about their background? In this case, many firms are using executive background checks to provide the complete picture of any potential business partner or executive hire.
Understanding Operational Risks
Operational risks originate from the interaction of people, processes, and technology, both internal and external to an organization. Advances in technology have changed the nature of work, but companies remain driven by people, and people remain imperfect. Employees, customers, vendors, and service providers are all sources of risk within a changing regulatory framework under increased scrutiny. That being said, recent developments in AI-powered risk intelligence provide new tools for operational risk management. These tools can help anticipate threats and prevent long-term damage to an organization.
International Background Checks: Strategies for Global Due Diligence
With the advancement of the modern globalized economy, international background checks continue to grow both in prevalence and in importance. Given that investors often seek out foreign investment opportunities, ensuring complete transparency requires conducting pre-investment due diligence that includes an in-depth global background screening of a company and its executives.
Sanctions Against Russia: What Investors Must Know
The current Russia-Ukraine conflict has sent ripples throughout the global economy. With the U.S. and other Western countries imposing expansive sanctions against Russia, companies are on high alert to ensure that they are in full compliance with the recent announcement made by the U.S. and European governments. This has major repercussions on current and future investment opportunities, both for asset managers and asset owners. With these directives coming into effect, it is all the more important for these businesses to protect themselves and their high-stake ventures.
Background Check Software: Choosing the Best Tech for Your Operational Due Diligence
When considering the pace at which business deals progress today, investment opportunities require an in-depth analysis covering all possible red flags to be delivered as quickly as possible. As a result, investors and operational due diligence professionals have advanced to adopting background check software to generate accurate and reliable background checks faster than ever before.
Ethical Management: How Conduct at the Top Can Drag Companies to the Bottom
Top-level management often represents the face of a company. In today’s society, where public scrutiny and opinions spread like wildfire, the integrity of a firm is not only affected by the organization’s performance, but it is intrinsically linked to the ethics and reputations of its senior executives.
Corporate Scandals. What Happens When Executive Due Diligence is Overlooked
Executive management is the heart of any company. Their leadership dictates its present operations and steers the way into the future. But what happens when that leadership is flawed? We look at some of the recent biggest unethical corporate scandals and how they might have been avoided.
Due Diligence Screening: An (In)Expensive Solution That Reduces Risk and Increases Profit
High-end screening is a necessity, not a luxury, for people and organizations making investments, establishing partnerships, and hiring high-level executives. The reputational and financial risks of failing to know what you should have can be devastating.
The Power of AI in Business – Redefining Due Diligence
AI is redefining business practices and enabling firms to achieve their overarching goals. In the financial industry, due diligence is a prime example of a business activity in which the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning can help firms actualize their objectives of absolute efficiency. By reducing natural human errors, eliminating manual inaccuracies, and automating internal operations to increase productivity, AI is transforming due diligence and investment risk analysis norms.
Is White Collar Crime Inevitable? How to Protect Your Organization
Many companies have made significant investments in preventing corporate crime and fraud, and yet, 47% of executives surveyed reported that their company had experienced white collar crime in the past two years. With the problem so prevalent, what can be done to further prevent white collar crime?
What is Reputational Risk? How To Recognize It and Prevent It From Impacting Your Organization
Harm to a company’s reputation can have a significant overall financial impact. While other forms of risk are easier to identify and mitigate against, reputational risk can appear random and impossible to prevent. Recent developments in AI-powered risk intelligence are changing that and making preventing reputational damage increasingly possible.
Understanding and preventing corporate fraud. How to avoid investing in the next Theranos.
Getting caught by a company engaged in law-breaking or dishonest business practices has always been a risk in any investment opportunity. With high-profile cases such as Theranos still hitting the headlines, we ask what constitutes corporate fraud, how it is different from other forms of white-collar crime, and how you can reduce the risk of being duped.