Jargon Buster


Due Diligence


The process whereby a potential investor undertakes detailed investigations to check that what you say about your business is true. Investors (or their appointed advisers) often look to verify material facts (eg scientific evidence, market research and financial details) that you have stated in your business or financial plan prior to making any investment in your business. Remember that your business plans should be considered as a “contract” with an investor and so information that it includes must be accurate.

Non-executive director

An experienced person who joins the board of a company to provide expertise and guidance to a business. Non-executive directors may not be “9-5” employees of the business and so don’t have the same day-to-day management responsibilities as full-time executive directors. They’re usually paid fees for their services and will have an agreement with the company outlining their terms of contract. They’re often invited to join the board to provide advice in specific aspects of the business eg raising finance.

QUESTIONS PLEASE

Send your questions to Professor Smith at independent@businessboffins.com. Selected questions will be answered each month. Answers are for the general guidance of ownermanagers only. Always seek professional advice. Professor Smith is the founder of Business Boffins Ltd which, in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University, Anglia Ruskin University, Warwick University and University of the West of England, delivers support programmes to small businesses nationwide. Readers of The Independent andThe Independent on Sunday can enrol on the programme at a discounted rate. See businessboffins.com

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

The 50 Best beachwear

The 50 Best beachwear

The hottest summer gear for men and women
Still standing: George Galloway reveals why his staunchly Leftist outlook is still invariably right

Still standing: George Galloway

Written off, ridiculed, wrongly accused of taking bribes the honourable member for Bradford West, has never bowed to the critics.
How will Daniel Radcliffe's fans react to his latest turn - as a damaged, drug-taking Beatnik poet?

Daniel Radcliffe as drug-taking Beatnik poet

His decade as the boy wizard may be over, but that hasn't hexed Daniel Radcliffe's enchanted life.
For whom the bell tolls: £20m 'Memo' project takes shape on Dorset's Jurassic coast

'Memo' project takes shape on Dorset coast

It started as a stonemason's visionary idea – to commemorate all the species that have ever existed and are now extinct.
Just add sunshine: Bill Granger's Turkish delights

Just add sunshine: Bill Granger's Turkish delights

Turkish cuisine is perfect for those long, sociable weekend meals with friends. It's just a shame that money can't buy the key ingredient.
Objets czar: David Usborne’s collection of myriad objects is quite the mystery

Objets czar: David Usborne’s collection of myriad objects

To others, they're junk. To David Usborne, they are his life: useful gizmos, mysterious thingamajigs and anonymous articles that dominate his home.
The iron ore lady: Why the world's richest woman is mired in controversy

World's richest woman: Gina Rinehart

Family feuds, attempts to control the Australian media and bitter public disputes are keeping the mining magnate in the headlines.
We just click: How Lego keeps building on its success

How Lego keeps building on its success

This year, Lego announced record profits. Gerard Gilbert visits its Denmark HQ.
The other bits: Mark Hix creates delicious and economical meals with cheaper cuts of meat

Mark Hix cooks with cheaper cuts of meat

Our chef creates delicious and economical meals on a budget
Strokes of genius: How to create summer's bold make-up look

Strokes of genius: Summer's bold make-up

From coral lips to fly-away fringes, make-up artist Kim Brown and hair stylist Richard Scorer reveal how to create the look
Marking his territory: Kilian Hennessy creates fragrances designed to provoke the senses

Marking his territory: Kilian Hennessy

The perfumer creates fragrances designed to provoke the senses
Photo essay: Britain's 1948 Olympians today

Britain's 1948 Olympians today

Photo essay
The top five E3 2012 triumphs: From Ubisoft's suite of titles to Dishonored and The Last of Us

The top five E3 2012 triumphs

The games and moments that left us grinning like the Cheshire Cat
The green movement at 50: Can the world be saved?

Can the world be saved?

Population growth and climate change are the big problems facing the earth in the next 50 years. But are there any solutions?
France: Will xenophobia go mainstream?

France: Will xenophobia go mainstream?

In the beautiful Rhone delta, John Lichfield visits a village where a dangerous new political landscape is taking shape