There is no universal method of investigation, because it is necessary to take into account the size of the business, the direction of activity, the frequency of concluding contracts with new counterparties. The following schemes are usually used:
Find out for yourself
You can exercise due diligence and think about how to check the counterparty yourself if the company has specialists with the relevant experience and the necessary software. You will also need really working regulations and a clearly organized document flow. Qualified personnel must understand the essence of the check, use appropriate methods, correctly record the results and pass them on to management. In large and medium-sized companies, these functions are performed by security specialists and lawyers.
Document flow and regulations the advantages of line database allow for a quick, high-quality audit of companies before signing contracts, as well as during the work process. To begin the study, it is necessary to obtain a set of documents from the counterparty. This includes statutory papers, information on debts to the budget, tax returns, staffing schedule, and a certificate of material and technical resources. At the same time, the potential partner must be diagnosed using open sources.
Methods for checking counterparties for reliability
The time period required to check a counterparty is now short, as modern software significantly simplifies the task. It allows you to analyze the company's connections, current financial status, court cases, information about government inspections and their results. There are cases in judicial practice when such reports in a dispute with tax authorities were considered evidence of due diligence - such a situation arose, for example, when considering cases No. A49-1953/2017; No. A03-2471/2017.
By third party organizations
This approach has many advantages. Thanks to it, you free your staff from additional tasks, while receiving a full report with data that cannot be found in open sources. Such performers know exactly how to check the solvency and other characteristics of the counterparty. They can also report the presence of a potential partner on the blacklist of the Bank of Russia.
This approach is recommended for small companies that check 15-20 firms per month. If you need to assess the reliability of several dozen potential partners per day, it is more profitable to allocate full-time specialists for these purposes.
With the help of a consultant
Organizations of any size can engage such professionals to set up and optimize business processes within the company for subsequent verification of counterparties. As a result, costs can be reduced while quickly obtaining high-quality results.
Usually, the consultant's tasks include developing internal acts for a specific company, i.e. regulations, orders. He also trains responsible employees using real examples, discusses all issues with them, checks how well the implemented mechanism functions. If necessary, he refines it.