Question:

I am interested in buying a business in the United States. Currently I live in Columbia. It is very difficult for me to travel each time I find a business I’m interested in. Would you recommend hiring someone to perform the due diligence on my behalf?

Answer:

I can certainly understand the difficulty that you face in buying a business in the U.S. while residing in another country.

Obviously, it just makes good sense economically to do as much as you can during this process without having to travel each time.

However, there are certain aspects to the business buying process that cannot be performed successfully unless in person.

These include meeting with the seller, and being involved with the due diligence. While you can engage an accountant who can review the financials, you should involve yourself in the process so that you are also comfortable with the numbers. A CPA can conduct the review but it is an important phase and I would strongly recommend that after you have an accepted offer in place and the financial review commences, you should be here to participate in organizing/overseeing this important stage.