Background

Within compliance, due diligence of third parties is an increasingly important part of most companies and organisations’ risk mitigation strategies, especially in the cases where a significant part of their business is conducted internationally. It is also an area that can be difficult to structure and scope correctly, and a task which can consume considerable amounts of time and resources.

During this course you will learn how to structure and manage a third party due diligence programme, and you will gain insights into conducting your own due diligence research in-house as well as how to effectively engage external providers to do so. Please note that the focus of this course is on integrity due diligence, i.e. risk-based assessments of  business partners, rather than M&A due diligence, although some of the same tools can be used in that context as well. 

Key takeaways from the course:  

• How to manage and organise a third party due diligence process 
• How to get an overview of your third party universe and structure third parties according to the risks associated with them
• Insights to assist you in deciding whether to conduct due diligence screenings in-house or to outsource the task 
• How to gain a deeper understanding of the risks that different types of third parties may pose to your company or organisation
• Best practices in selecting and using basic tools for due diligence screenings, including open source intelligence and compliance databases
• How to interpret the results of your research or due diligence reports to improve your decision-making
• How and when to stop or terminate business opportunities, or implementing mitigating actions to lower your risk exposure

Content

The course covers the following areas within third party due diligence: 

• Legal requirements and international trends in third party due diligence
• Establishing an overview of your third parties
• Assessing the risks associated with third parties, e.g. corruption, sanctions, financial problems, reputational issues, key individuals, as well as third parties’ level of data protection and information security.
• Tools, sources and methodologies for conducting your own due diligence screenings
• Software and online solutions for due diligence, including artificial intelligence solutions to manage third parties and conduct automated screenings
• Considerations regarding the purchase of third-party due diligence reports vs. conducting assessments in-house
• Putting in place mitigating actions and managing these once in place
• Ongoing monitoring of due diligence approved third parties 
• Communication with internal stakeholders such as management, sales, operations, finance etc about due diligence findings
• Communication with external stakeholders such as customers, financial institutions, authorities, media and NGOs about due diligence risks and results

Target group

The course is designed for compliance managers and professionals, in-house legal counsel, lawyers or other functions in private practice with an interest in the compliance discipline or due diligence more broadly. 

Form of teaching

The course is interactive and includes many practical examples and cases. The course is conducted in English. 

Material

You will be asked to provide basic information about a test case for due diligence screening of a third party relevant to your own organisation.

The course is well linked with the other course "Compliance – internal investigations", and it makes sense to participate both days if you need a comprehensive compliance toolbox.