The Role of Technology in fundraising due diligence

By removing due diligence from the hands of attorneys and outsourcing it to automated programs, modern legal technology has considerably simplified what was formerly a time-consuming procedure fraught with numerous regulatory dangers. Using technology effectively is like balancing on a tightrope. The outcome of a decision that takes into account benefits, costs, and implications on implementation is typically uncertain. To keep up with ever-increasing compliance requirements, you need to build the correct strategy for handling due diligence technologies. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of technology in fundraising due diligence and how technology can affect fundraising due diligence for your startup.

Fundraising due diligence and technology

Due diligence, is the process by which an investor researches and investigates a company before making a significant financial decision. Financial institutions must have procedures in place to analyze a company and its operations before choosing whether or not to provide credit. Depending on the options and procedures of different investors, different levels of due diligence may be required before making a final choice. Let’s see how technology impacts due diligence processes in the upcoming sections.

Understand technology in a company

Due to a variety of advantages, including adaptable support models and cost savings, many businesses now choose to outsource all of their IT functions. Infrastructure monitoring, first-line support ticket handling, and managing cloud licenses are just some of the mundane activities that an outsourcing tech company may do on your behalf.

Almost every department in a company may reap some kind of advantage from technological advancements. This includes anything from marketing and finance to HR and administration.

Adopting new technologies is essential in today’s competitive business environment, but so is keeping those technologies up to date and running smoothly.

Importance of technology in a company

Workplace technology has become an integral part of every successful contemporary business, and its value cannot be overstated. Technology has advanced to the point that it is used in almost every aspect of our lives, from personal to professional. Business operations, as well as customer habits and expectations, have been radically altered by technological advancements in the workplace.

McKinsey Global Study of executives found that owing to the pandemic, 93% of companies reported an increase in remote workers, 62% reported an increase in online customer purchases and solutions, and 34% reported an increase in cloud migration of company assets.

Understand fundraising due diligence

The term fundraising due diligence refers to the steps investors take to ensure your business is worth investing in.

Let’s assume the overview of your company and the possibilities that you provided in your presentation were quite impressive. You may have uncovered some threats, but you haven’t gone into the nuts and bolts of your business. Due diligence entails investigating every aspect of a business, good and bad.

Investors won’t offer their cash unless they have proof that you can back up your claims with data and documents like test results, market research, and copies of contracts showing client commitments.

Importance of technology in fundraising due diligence

Numerous shifts have occurred in the economic sector as a direct effect of technological development. Traditional methods of investigation required physical paperwork and on-site inspections. However, modern technology has made it possible for lenders to instantly view the borrower’s credit report, bank statements, and other documents with only a few clicks of the mouse. Banking institutions and non-traditional investors alike may now access a broader range of data in a more streamlined manner.

Information Request and Initial Review

Although banks and investors eventually acquire access to and utilize largely the same data to determine whether or not to lend, distinctions in the collection of this data become evident. While many aspects of fundraising due diligence remain very manual, technology allows for data aggregation. Manual data collection is time-consuming and expensive.

Manual methods are flawed since they are dependent on the expertise of the researchers. Automation solutions simplify the laborious process of data collection and analysis, allowing researchers to save time and effort. This frees up the analyst’s time to concentrate on the finer points of the investigation.

The continuous screening of external parties to handle the rising risk of penalties is a prime illustration of automation in action. Startup founders can also employ such automation tools to save time in gathering and classifying documents.

Market Due Diligence

Market researchers now have access to cutting-edge tools that allow them to speed up time-honored procedures, improve efficiency, and save expenses without sacrificing accuracy. Rapid processing of this information by AI-enhanced analytics software can provide previously unknown insights into customer sentiment and reveal hidden patterns. Deliverables that used to take weeks to complete may now be finished in a matter of hours as a result of automated market due diligence. Using automation, you will find that survey research is now more consistent, thereby streamlining the market research process.

Financial Due Diligence

Since the deployment of technologies like big data, cloud computing, and automation decreases the time allocated to conventional procedures, improving productivity, they are contributing to improved agility and efficiency in financial due diligence.

Reducing the amount of time spent on reporting allows more energy to be directed into value-adding activities like analysis, decision-making, and risk management. these activities, in turn, have an effect on individuals and the firm as a whole.

In the end, investing in accounting software will save you both time and money in the long term. When processes are automated, fewer human inputs are required. In addition, advanced analytics can help you get a more nuanced and precise understanding of your financial situation.

Legal Due Diligence

The utilization of technology can facilitate the process of scoping out projects. In the scenario where a data room contains numerous documents about an intended audience with subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions, an AI tool can aid in determining the necessary actions to be taken. This includes identifying the legal basis of the files that need to be reviewed and determining the involvement of local counsel as required.

Additionally, online document-sharing platforms are highly suitable for facilitating the review of standardized documents or contracts. The utilization of technology is highly advantageous in identifying deviations from a standard contract more efficiently compared to a team of lawyers. This enables the lawyers to concentrate on analyzing the implications of such deviations.

Technical Due Diligence

People management is essential to developing and sustaining a cutting-edge product or service. The details on the methods used by your company for development, quality control, and security testing, as well as implementation, operations, and assistance, must be included here.

You must demonstrate the efficacy, efficiency, and sustainability of your software development methods to get funding for their continuing use in product innovation. Technology helps to keep track of everything that goes on in your company, from who does what to how much it costs and how long it takes.

You should be ready to report on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the time it takes to release a new version, respond to a support request, and resolve severe bugs and security flaws. You can use automated tools, such as bug tracking and quality assurance, to keep tabs on everything.

Operational Due Diligence

Using technology, you may automate procedures, enhance communication and cooperation, and reduce manual work. This will allow you to devote more time and energy to other aspects of your company.

You may maximize your company’s output by using cutting-edge innovation to enhance operational efficiencies. By controlling and monitoring the flow of work, workflow management software may help businesses run more smoothly. This has the potential to reduce the need for unnecessary repetition, increase productivity, and enhance timeliness and accuracy.

How technology can affect fundraising due diligence

Taking the appropriate approach to due diligence technologies can allow you to better handle rising compliance demands. In this section, we’ll examine how technological advancements have altered the due diligence process for the better.

• Speed and Efficiency – With the help of technology like AI, businesses may evaluate documents more quickly and correctly by extracting useful information based on predefined search criteria. Even details like contracts involving internal and external stakeholders, as well as leasing responsibilities, may be extracted in a matter of minutes using technology in due diligence.
• Accuracy and Data Analysis – Automation solutions simplify the laborious process of data collection and analysis, allowing researchers to save time and effort. Automated research provides superior accuracy compared to manual research, allowing for the conservation of energy that can be redirected toward more intricate investigative endeavors.
• Access to Information – Through the use of technology, businesses can collect data on several possible risk factors and hence provide answers to often-asked due diligence questions. Among them are compliance concerns, dispute resolution, and current litigation. Businesses may save resources and conclude transactions more quickly by using AI.
• Collaboration and Communication – With legal teams being more geographically spread than ever before, it’s becoming more difficult to coordinate efforts and stay on top of an ever-increasing workload. Virtual collaborative tools boost productivity, increase the available time for dealmakers, make remote work easy, and keep good employees around.
• Virtual Due Diligence – The procedure of due diligence faces substantial problems as a result of the massive amounts of data that must now be evaluated. Over the last decade, virtual data rooms are significantly speeding up and secured transactions by giving dealmakers instant access to the information they need to decide whether to proceed with a deal.
• Cybersecurity and Data Privacy – Cybersecurity audits and assessments are essential to fundraising due diligence, and today’s solutions are more efficient and thorough. During due diligence research and analysis, ML and data analytics may help categorize contracts and index their content for searching and dynamically report on a company’s security policies.

Get ready for your fundraising due diligence with Eqvista!

Both the buyer and the seller should have a crystal-clear understanding of the technology’s current status before committing to an investment. To gain the whole technical picture, it is often necessary to consult with other specialists. Investors who have access to such detailed information may make more informed decisions. When it comes to fundraising due diligence in the company, the professionals at Eqvista offer the accounting, assurance, advising, and tax services that are essential. Benefit from our expertise while you negotiate, arrange, and close your deal. Get in touch with us now to find out how we can assist your company!