The Buyer’s Sanity Check is an early‑stage, light‑touch financial review for people looking to buy a business. It gives you an independent read on whether the deal stacks up on the numbers, before you commission a full Quality of Earnings (QofE) review or Financial Due Diligence (FDD).
We focus on the essentials that matter at this stage, earnings quality, basic cash‑flow health and obvious risk flags so you can decide whether to walk away, renegotiate or take the next step with confidence.
Most buyers either dive into expensive due diligence too early, or rely on a broker’s CIM and gut feel. Both can be costly.
The Buyer’s Sanity Check helps you:
Avoid spending thousands on full due diligence for a deal that was never going to stack up.
Spot early indicators of trouble in revenue, profit or cash‑flow trends.
Challenge optimistic “normalisations” and addbacks that make earnings look better than they really are.
Prioritise which deals deserve more of your time and advisory budget.
It’s the logical step between scanning a teaser and instructing a full QoE or Financial Due Diligence engagement.
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This service is designed for the early and mid stages of your search or transaction, typically when:
You have a CIM or broker pack and at least 2–3 years of financials.
You’re shortlisting a few businesses and need a way to filter them fast.
You’re not ready to commit to full QoE or FDD on every opportunity.
You want an independent view that isn’t paid to close the deal.
It suits individual buyers, searchers, operators considering bolt‑ons, and small funds working through a pipeline of SME opportunities.
A 3–5 page written summary of the business’s financial story in plain English.
Our high‑level view on earnings quality and whether profits look repeatable.
Identification of major red flags, pressure points and potential “deal killers”.
A simple sense check on whether the asking price feels broadly aligned with the numbers we see.
A shortlist of precise questions to take back to the seller, broker or your other advisors.
30‑minute debrief call to walk through the findings, in context with your objectives and risk appetite.
This is not a full audit, QofE or FDD exercise. It’s intentionally tight in scope so it can be fast and affordable.
Typical areas we focus on include:
Earnings quality (at a high level) – how profits are generated, and whether trends suggest stability or fragility.
Cash‑flow reality – basic checks on whether the cash supports the reported earnings.
Trends and volatility – changes in revenue, margins, overheads and owner drawings over the last 2–3 years.
Adjustments and addbacks – items that inflate “normalised” earnings and deserve scrutiny.
Customer and supplier concentration – simple indicators of key‑person or key‑customer risk.
Working capital needs – whether the business appears to need more cash than the headline numbers imply.
Where we see issues that warrant a deeper review, we’ll highlight them and explain whether a full QoE or Financial Due Diligence
engagement is likely to add value.
The Buyer’s Sanity Check is designed as a low‑cost entry point into our broader transaction support suite, not a substitute for it.
On qualifying engagements for the same business, we can credit your Buyer’s Sanity Check fee towards a later QoE or FDD review,
so your early work is not wasted.
First‑time buyers who want a second set of eyes on the numbers.
Experienced operators and searchers who need a repeatable, scalable filter for deal flow.
Owners and management teams assessing strategic bolt‑on acquisitions.
Investors and small funds where running full FDD on every deal isn’t realistic.
Deal sizes typically range from smaller “main street” businesses through to lower mid‑market SMEs where a well‑targeted early review can save significant time and cost.
Initial conversation
A short call to understand the deal, your objectives and where you are in the process. We outline scope, confirm a fixed fee
and agree timelines.
Information upload
You provide key documents, usually 2–3 years of financial statements, year‑to‑date numbers if available, and the CIM or broker pack.
Review and report
We complete the Sanity Check within the agreed timeframe and prepare your written summary with key observations and implications.
Debrief and next steps
We walk you through the findings and discuss options: walk away, renegotiate, park the deal, or commission a deeper QofE or FDD review.
You’re not buying a template. You’re engaging a team that already advises on QofE or FDD and business acquisitions across a range of industries.
With the BSC you get:
A specialist acquisition lens, not just compliance accounting.
Clear, candid commentary on what the numbers suggest, in language you don’t need a finance degree to understand.
Practical guidance on what to ask next and where to push, not just a list of issues.
If you’re looking at a business and want to know whether it deserves more of your time, money and attention:
Book a chat and get a fast, independent read on whether the numbers support the story you’re being sold