Partnerships and Agreements:
Collect any partnership, joint venture, distributorship, franchise, licensing, management, research and development, or similar agreements or contracts.
Compile contracts with customers or suppliers, including lists of the company's largest customers and suppliers with details of services and products provided.
Sales and Leases:
Gather material agreements related to the sale or lease of the company's personal property and any related financing arrangements.
Review all material warranty and service agreements, installment sales agreements, and any agreements restricting the company's competitive abilities.
Inter-Company and Affiliate Agreements:
Assess any inter-company agreements between the company and its subsidiaries, and any agreements between the company and its affiliates.
Reorganizations and Transactions:
Examine material purchase agreements and documents related to reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, and indemnification agreements.
Loans and Credit:
Analyze bank line of credit agreements, other loan agreements, guarantees by the company, and all outstanding leases for real and personal property.
Supplier and Customer Contracts
Evaluate material contracts with suppliers or customers, noting any sole-source suppliers and reviewing model sales or manufacturing contracts.
Employment and Compensation Agreements:
Review agreements for loans to, and any other agreements with officers, directors, or employees, including bonus, retirement, pension, deferred compensation, profit-sharing, and management incentive agreements.
Insurance and Intellectual Property:
Schedule all insurance policies covering the company's property, including key person, director indemnification, and product liability policies.
Check for ownership of technology and the terms under which any company software is licensed, including associated royalty payments.
Leases and Transactions:
Obtain copies of all asset and office space lease agreements, reviewing terms, early payment, and renewal provisions.
Review all related party transactions for the past three years, including any outbound or inbound royalty agreements.
Legal and Regulatory Review:
Review all legal invoices for the past two years and all pending and threatened legal proceedings, including governmental or environmental proceedings.
If the company is publicly held, obtain all periodic filings for the past five years, including 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, and Schedule 13D.
Reports and Publications:
Review all annual and quarterly reports to shareholders, auditors' letters to management, and reports from outside consultants or analysts.
Research any press releases or articles about the company within the past year.
Property and Renegotiation:
Review title insurance for any significant land parcels owned by the company.
Assess the status of contracts subject to the Renegotiation Act.