Due Diligence and Project Reports

Overview

This service covers two related kinds of work. Due diligence is a structured review of a business before an acquisition, investment, partnership, joint venture or loan, to find what is wrong or risky before a commitment is made. A project report or business plan is the document that lays out a business, its market, its finances and what it needs, usually for a bank, an investor, a government scheme or a visa application.

Both rest on the same discipline: check the facts, state assumptions plainly and show the numbers in a form a decision-maker can trust.

Who needs it

• Buyers and investors evaluating a target company, and sellers preparing for a buyer's review (vendor due diligence).
• Companies entering a joint venture, strategic partnership or collaboration.
• Businesses applying for a term loan, working capital or a scheme-backed loan who must submit a project report.
• Startups and founders preparing for investors, DPIIT-related applications or an entrepreneur visa.
• Lenders and boards asking for an independent review before a transaction.

What Zenith does

Zenith listens first, agrees the purpose, audience and scope, and gives a tailored quotation. A relationship manager is assigned and the work is organised as a project with a defined report.

Due diligence

• Financial: analysis of financial statements, quality of earnings, working capital, debt and contingent liabilities, projections and the reliability of accounting policies.
• Tax and compliance: income tax, GST, TDS and ROC status, open notices and unpaid dues.
• Legal and regulatory: corporate records, contracts, licences, litigation and related-party dealings, coordinated with a lawyer where legal opinion is needed.
• Operational and commercial: customers, suppliers, people and technology, where in scope.
• A findings report with risk ratings, items that could change price or terms, and recommended protections.

Project report and business plan

• Business description, market analysis and positioning.
• Financial projections: revenue, profit and loss, cash flow, break-even and debt repayment capacity.
• Funding requirement, sources and uses, and repayment schedule for lenders.
• Executive summary and formatting for the audience: bank, investor, scheme or visa.
• Support in answering the lender's or investor's questions on the numbers.

Due diligence is based on documents and information provided and made available by the other side; it has limits, and it does not replace an audit. Zenith does not promise loan approval or funding.

Eligibility and key rules

• There is no statutory eligibility; the service can be commissioned by any buyer, investor, lender or business owner.
• Scope must be agreed in writing: what is reviewed, the period, materiality and the data room.
• Access to the other party's records depends on their cooperation and a confidentiality agreement.
• The review gives a picture at a point in time. People, culture and future performance cannot be fully assessed through documents.
• Lenders have their own criteria: business vintage, turnover, credit score and profitability vary by lender and product, and project reports must be consistent with the financial statements.
• Where the report supports a certificate or attestation, it is signed only by an appropriately authorised professional, subject to eligibility and applicable rules.

Documents required

For due diligence

• Incorporation documents, MOA and AOA, statutory registers and shareholding.
• Audited financial statements for three years, management accounts and trial balance.
• Tax returns, GST returns, TDS returns and any notices or assessment orders.
• Major contracts, loan and security documents, leases and licences.
• Employee list, key agreements and statutory registrations.
• Details of litigation and intellectual property.

For a project report or business plan

• Business registration, PAN, GST and promoter background.
• Last two to three years' financial statements for an existing business.
• Bank statements for the last 6 to 12 months and details of existing loans.
• Quotations for machinery or assets, the proposed project cost and means of finance.
• Sales assumptions, customer and supplier details.
• Collateral details, if the report is for a secured loan.

Process and timeline

1. Scoping. Purpose, parties, scope and confidentiality terms are agreed.
2. Information request. A tailored checklist is shared and the data room is set up.
3. Review and analysis. Documents are reviewed, management is questioned and findings are logged.
4. Draft report. Findings or the draft plan with the model is shared for factual review.
5. Final report. Issued with the summary, ratings and recommendations.
6. Support. Presentation to the board, lender or investor and responses to follow-up questions.

Timelines depend on the size of the target, how fast documents are supplied and the depth of review.

Government fees, penalties and due dates

Due diligence and project reports carry no government fee. Fees arise only for later steps, such as stamp duty on transaction documents, loan processing charges or registration of a charge with the ROC, and these are shown separately. The reports often flag penalties and late fees already accruing in the target, such as late ROC or tax filings. Typical dates include the AGM within six months of the year end, AOC-4 within 30 days of the AGM and MGT-7 within 60 days.

Amounts and dates above reflect public sources read in October 2026 and change with notifications, so Zenith confirms the current figures in your quotation.

Common mistakes

• Starting due diligence after the price is already agreed.
• A scope that is too narrow, such as only reviewing financials and ignoring contracts and compliance.
• Accepting management accounts without reconciling them to bank statements and returns.
• Optimistic projections without stated assumptions, which lenders and investors discount.
• A project report that does not match the financial statements or the loan request.
• Leaving out collateral, existing loans and contingent liabilities.
• Treating a clean report as a promise about the future.

FAQs