Protect deal value through legal, regulatory and economic crime challenges
Protecting your deal value
Our Investigations & Forensics experts work to preemptively identify and resolve potential deal issues directly with you or in collaboration with our PwC Deals team. By engaging us throughout the deal lifecycle, you gain a competitive edge, leveraging our global presence and extensive industry expertise. We act as your trusted advisor, effectively navigating legal, regulatory, and economic crime challenges. — The result? You protect your deal value, identify issues before acquisition, and accelerate your business strategy with confidence. We can assist you in evaluating these risks during unexpected events, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), divestitures, carveouts, market entry, and IPOs.
Deal offerings
We identify potential high-risk deal considerations, third parties and activities, before they impact our clients, in response to clients navigating new markets or responding to regulatory requirements. Our services include compliance due diligence, program development, third party tracking, detection & monitoring, and third-party risk management.
We help clients leverage technology to develop and conduct anti-money laundering (AML) due diligence, as well as implement fraud analytics & detection models that allow them to manage their fraud and compliance risks and identify/remediate potential threats.
- We draw on both structured and unstructured data and sources—from traditional and social media and public records to sanctions/watchlists, industry relationships, global and local litigation and regulatory sources and more—to create customized, user-friendly, and actionable intelligence. In collaboration with our deals teams, we offer a more holistic view of potential targets and underlying transactions.
- Geopolitical, market, industry, and competitive analysis;
- Pre- and post-investment reputational due diligence;
- Third party integrity due diligence, asset searches and assessing conflicts of interest; and
- Deals and transaction corporate intelligence support.
We help clients understand and proactively manage export controls and trade compliance requirements posed by potential target entities or markets, including analyzing high risk transactions and reviewing policies/ procedures for compliance with new regulations.
We help clients navigate public sector markets and understand the complex laws & regulatory trends unique to government awards as part of diligence. We advise entities on the risks and opportunities of working with public sector customers, drawing on our experience dealing with auditors & regulators.
We help clients understand complex competition regulations and assess your overall compliance risk to find challenges as part of diligence before they arise. Our global network of forensics professionals allows us to advise entities based on local expertise with the backing of our international team to ensure our client’s policies remain compliant and robust to change.
Our due diligence work reflects the priority sustainability matters for the acquisition target, with consideration of key stakeholder groups and the company’s effects on society. Our responsible sourcing and supply chain capabilities include, performing a maturity/gap assessment of responsible sourcing programs, identifying current and/or emerging regulations which may impact the program, determining potential opportunities for enhancement.
- IPO readiness support
We assess legal & compliance functions for IPO readiness, identifying gaps in governance, regulatory compliance, and legal operations to help teams align with public company standards and readiness actions. - Contract review & analysis
We conduct targeted contract reviews to support deal separations and integrations, identifying obligations, risks, and opportunities while enabling smooth transition and continuity of agreements. - Records & data management
We support the legal carve-out and integration of records and data, helping teams manage legacy systems, maintain compliance, and prepare data environments for day-one readiness. - Integration Planning and Day-One Legal & Compliance Readiness
We prepare Legal & Compliance teams for day-one operations post-transaction, ensuring services continuity, risk mitigation, and operational alignment.
Regulatory guidance on corporate compliance programs
An ever-changing regulatory environment places increased emphasis on corporate compliance programs, including elements related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Our Investigations & Forensics experts can assist across all stages of the deals lifecycle to allow for compliance with applicable government guidelines and regulations.
Do you perform appropriate pre-M&A due diligence and integrate the acquired entity into existing compliance program structures and internal controls timely?
Post acquisition, are you tracking, addressing, and remediating the potential misconduct and integrating compliance program enhancements that were identified during due diligence and conducting post-acquisition audits?
How we fit into the deals lifecycle
Our Investigations & forensics deals team can help you to identify, evaluate, and remediate potential risks throughout the deals lifecycle. We conduct risk assessments, due diligence, and investigations to identify fraudulent activity, bribery, money laundering, and violations to government regulations, existing contracts, and sanctions. We aim to mitigate successor liability, uncover potential cost savings and synergies, and minimize the costs associated with non-compliance.
Pre-acquisition diligence:
Risk assessment
- Assess risks in Targets with foreign operations, or with interactions with foreign governments
- Analyze Target's customer and vendor relations for ABAC and fraud risks
Compliance program evaluation
- Determine how the Target monitors compliance
- Identify policies and procedures in place at the Target to mitigate inherent ABAC & fraud risks that could result in successor liability
- Advise clients on complex laws & regulatory trends associated with government contracting awards to mitigate compliance risk
Pre-acquisition diligence:
- Identify potential fraud FCPA and other bribery/corruption risk factors that may be inherent in the Target's business model and operational activities, and communicate findings to the Buyer
- Perform targeted, local-language reputational due diligence on the Target – including key executives, third parties, and operations in high-risk jurisdictions – to identify and assess corruption risks and touchpoints with Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs)
- Leverage technology to develop and conduct anti-money laundering (AML) due diligence, allowing Clients to manage, identify, and remediate risks
Pre-acquisition diligence:
- Identify contracts and business that may have been obtained through potential improper payments and/ or tainted revenue streams
- Review and evaluate internal controls, books and records, and financial reporting policies and procedures
- Analyze third-party factors that could influence purchase price and anti-corruption representations and warranties within the purchase agreement
- Proactively manage export controls and trade compliance requirements posed by potential target entities
- Perform a maturity/gap assessment of responsible sourcing programs. Identify current and/or emerging regulations which may impact the program
Pre-acquisition diligence:
- Conduct IPO readiness assessments and perform contract reviews for deals separations and integrations
- Conduct records and data management integrations and carve-outs to develop integration plans
- Prepare Legal & Compliance teams for day-one operations post-transaction, ensuring services continuity, risk mitigation, and operational alignment
- Conduct diligence to assess compliance with complex competition regulations
Post-acquisition diligence:
- Enhance the existing compliance program and implement and design internal controls to help prevent, detect, and deter potential future illegal acts
- Communicate the client's compliance and financial policies and procedures to the Target's employees and third parties
- Integrate the Target, and its third parties, into the client's compliance and training program
What questions to ask
Foreign operations
Does the Target entity have operations outside of the United States (e.g., sales, manufacturing, procurement), particularly in higher-risk territories?
Government interactions & contracts
Does the Target entity have interactions, contracts or agreements with foreign governments or state-owned entities as part of its business?
Compliance programs
Does the Target entity have a compliance program that addresses potential fraud and bribery & corruption risks?
Third parties
Does the Target entity use third parties to interact with foreign governments on its behalf? Will these third parties be used post-acquisition?
Whistleblowers & tips
Does the Target have any pending high-risk transactions, allegations of fraud or complaints raised by whistleblowers that may require investigation?
Antitrust / competition regulation
Does the planned deals activity with the Target entity pose a compliance risk with current competition regulation?
Sanctions
Does the Target entity conduct business or interact with other entities in foreign countries that have international transaction restrictions?
Anti-money laundering (AML)
Does the Target entity have detection models in place to identity and remediate potential fraud and compliance risks?
Books, records, & internal controls
Does the Target entity keep books, records, and accounts that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect its transactions and dispositions of assets?
