Corporate and legal due diligence in Cameroon is the process undertaken by an acquiring firm in order to thoroughly and completely assess the target company’s business, assets, liabilities and financial performance. Corporate and Legal due diligence in Cameroon can also be seen as the process through which preliminary steps are taken by an investor intending to enter into an asset or share sale transaction in Cameroon. The purpose for which an investor or buyer will conduct corporate and legal due diligence in Cameroon as far as business transactions is concerned is to ensure a proper screening of the target company prior to any business engagement. Corporate and legal due diligence in Cameroon is synonymous to corporate legal investigations in Cameroon. Corporate legal investigation is engaged in different forms hence illustrating the types of due diligence in Cameroon. Corporate and legal due diligence in Cameroon is a cumbersome task engaged by firms and legal professionals in Cameroon. legal due diligence exercises range from verification of documents, evaluating business transactions and agreements, evaluating the capacity of proposed business partners, evaluating products which are subject to future business dealings, evaluating the stakes involved in mergers and acquisition negotiation, and assessing the credibility of parties in a business dealing or transaction in Cameroon.
LEGAL DUE DILIGENCE IN CAMEROON
Legal due diligence in Cameroon is mostly used to secure business transactions between parties in Cameroon. Most often between foreign clients and Cameroon based companies. This is a duty mostly incumbent on the foreign client to ensure that the Cameroon based company is credible enough to do the business which is subject to negotiation. Legal due diligence in Cameroon is the process of examining the details of a transaction to make sure it’s legal, and to fully appraise both the buyer and seller of as many facts in the deal as possible.
Importance of Legal Due Diligence In Cameroon
Legal due diligence in Cameroon is important for the following reasons;
- Assess risks in a business negotiation, deal or transaction in order to minimize the loss which could be incurred by the buyer, investor, creditor or shareholder.
- The authenticity of documents meant for business dealings in Cameroon can only be confirmed when conducting legal due diligence in Cameroon.
- It helps in the proper understanding of a target company or a particular business dealing hence placing both parties in a comfortable position to do business.
- It helps disclose complex information on administrative, legal and corporate documents.
- Expert opinions can be understood with the help of a proper due diligence exercise in Cameroon.
CORPORATE DUE DILIGENCE IN CAMEROON
Corporate due diligence in Cameroon is a process which includes an inter disciplinary examination of various fields and sectors of activity. These aspects of examination touch on assets, liabilities, obligation to suppliers, employee situation and third parties, status of legal proceeding, financial situation, tax situation, contract situation, License situation etc.
Importance of Corporate Due Diligence In Cameroon
- It helps to disclose concrete and credible information on a Company in Cameroon on the following aspects; Incorporation documents, tax clearance information and documents, employee situation, financial situation, and litigation situation of the Cameroon company.
- It guides stakeholders in a mergers and acquisition as the status of the target company can be properly examined and decision making by the acquiring company is better.
- It guides the target company when it comes to better bargain in a takeover transaction or business in Cameroon.
- It guides the Investor to avoid incurring liabilities, fraud and foresee cases of solvency from the target company in Cameroon.
TYPES OF CORPORATE & LEGAL DUE DILIGENCE IN CAMEROON
Corporate and legal due diligence in Cameroon is properly understood based on the types of due diligence in Cameroon. The various types of due diligence in Cameroon are as follows;
- Administrative Due Diligence in Cameroon: This is the aspect of due diligence in Cameroon which involves verifying administrative related information such as offices, issuing authority, signature of authority, official stamps etc.
- Financial Due Diligence in Cameroon: This is one of the most important aspects of due diligence in Cameroon. It is aimed at ensuring that the financials showcased by a target company are accurate or not.
- Asset Due Diligence in Cameroon: This type of due diligence in Cameroon includes a detailed schedule of fixed assets, their location, all lease agreements for equipment, real estate deeds etc.
- Human Resource Due Diligence in Cameroon: Human resources due diligence in Cameroon is quite extensive. It entails analysis of employees, current salaries, bonuses, employment contracts, Non Disclosure Agreements, Human resource policies regarding annual leave, sick leave and other forms of leave, analysis of employee litigation/problems etc.
- Environmental Due Diligence in Cameroon: This is due diligence in Cameroon based on environmental regulation on companies. Failure to respect such negotiation can lead to companies being penalized and even operations being shut down. It is therefore important to ensure that engage in environmental friendly activities.
- Taxes Due Diligence in Cameroon: Due Diligence with regards to tax liability includes a review of all taxes the company is required to pay to ensure tax filings and declarations are up to date.
- Intellectual Property Due Diligence in Cameroon: Almost all companies have intellectual property assets that they can use to monetize their business. These intangible assets are what differentiate the products and services between companies in Cameroon.
- Legal Due Diligence in Cameroon: This type of due diligence is very necessary as it encompasses all the types of due diligence as stated above.
- Product Due Diligence in Cameroon: This type of due diligence exercise is based on the nature, quality and quantity of the particular product which is subject to the business transaction.
- Signature Due Diligence in Cameroon: This type of due diligence in Cameroon is aimed at confirming the legibility of a signature on a document as the right signature of the owner whose names are usually affixed next to the signatures.
- Face Value Due Diligence in Cameroon: This type of due diligence in Cameroon is also referred to as first impression due diligence. It is aimed at confirming if the nature and style of presentation on a document or product corresponds to the regular standard of that particular document or product.
Process of Corporate & Legal Due Diligence in Cameroon
Corporate and legal due diligence process in Cameroon includes an inter disciplinary examination of various fields and sectors of activity. These aspects of examination touch on assets, obligation to suppliers, employee situation and third parties, status of legal proceeding, tax implication of transactions, risk and reward analysis of transactions etc.
Corporate and Legal due diligence process in Cameroon varies according to the type of business transaction involved. However, there are standard procedures which every due diligence exercise must follow. They include among others;
- Hire the services of a law firm.
- Provide all necessary documents subject to the transaction.
- Verify the authenticity of documents or product used as part of the business negotiation.
- Verify the legitimacy of the parties to a transaction.
- Engage search exercises at the regulatory offices involved in the transaction.
- Engage direct visitation to persons, offices, sites, production units etc.
- In case of companies as parties, engage due diligence on the companies through various platforms including social media outlets.
- Verify the litigation and tax engagements for target companies.