87477 - Due Diligence Techniques and Analysis (Laboratory)

Academic Year 2023/2024

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Economics and Accounting (cod. 0900)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the due diligence process. Specifically, he/she is able to plan, organize, and conduct a due diligence.

Course contents

Students will acquire a multi-disciplinary package of skills that are typically used in the M&A field.

As can be seen from the program below, the course is divided into two sections.The first section aims to illustrate the typical processes and techniques of M&A.The second section is aimed at illustrating the main types of due diligence. This last section will also make it possible to review / deepen some fundamental concepts in the accounting, legal and tax fields.

The course will end with business cases with the aim of consolidating the concepts illustrated, from the theoretical point of view, in the first two sections.

Course Program:

Section I

Business life cycle and impact on the management of the growth path

The deal cycle and the different perspectives (buying/vendor side)

The contractual aspects of the deal cycle

Section II

The financial due diligence

The legal due diligence

The tax due diligence

Business cases

Readings/Bibliography

Study and reading material will be distributed during the course.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons with the participation of external guests with strong experience in the multidisciplinary fields of the course.

Assessment methods

Written exam with "idoneo/non idoneo". The exam will consist in a variable number of multiple-choice questions depending on the difficulty. The test will have a duration of 30 minutes and a score will be attributed to each question depending on the difficulty. The top score is 30 and the student will be considered as "idoneo" starting from an overall score of 18/30. 

Teaching tools

Teaching tools will be provided/made available during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Gabriele Pierini