Short answer
What you should know before deciding
The depth of the review should follow the risk: amount, down payment, data access, operational dependency, outsourcing and regulatory exposure. A critical supplier requires more evidence, contractual controls and monitoring than an occasional low-impact purchase.
01
Work sequence
Service risk → identity → capacity → integrity → continuity → controls → monitoring.
The sequence avoids opening indiscriminate searches: each step must answer a question, produce evidence and leave a verifiable conclusion.
- 01Classifies criticality, access and amount.
Define in writing the objective, scope and criteria that will be used to decide.
- 02Verify company, relevant beneficiaries and representative.
Record who provided the information, how it was validated, the cutoff date, and any differences that require clarification.
- 03Evaluates technical capacity and references.
Record who provided the information, how it was validated, the cutoff date, and any differences that require clarification.
- 04Review relevant fiscal, judicial and regulatory signals.
Record who provided the information, how it was validated, the cutoff date, and any differences that require clarification.
- 05Defines contractual and operational mitigants.
Record who provided the information, how it was validated, the cutoff date, and any differences that require clarification.
- 06Update the review when the risk changes.
Conclude with confirmed facts, open items, limitations, and actions; avoid an opaque score.
Practical application
What to check and what to ask
Useful documents or evidence
- Tax and corporate identity of the exact counterparty.
- Powers of the signatory and bank account of the same entity.
- Experience, references and evidence of technical capacity.
- Permits, insurance, certifications or policies required by the service.
- Information about subcontractors and data processing when applicable.
Control questions
- What happens if the provider fails or disappears?
- Will you have access to money, systems, facilities or personal data?
- Do advance payments and dependency require guarantees or partial deliveries?
- What signs should be monitored during the relationship?
Frequent errors
- Apply the same questionnaire to all suppliers.
- Rely only on a commercial opinion or tax evidence.
- Paying to a different person's account without documented explanation.
- Close the review upon signing and skip subsequent risky changes.
Scope and limits
Educational content, not advice for a specific case. A match does not confirm identity and the absence of findings does not guarantee absence of risk. Coverage changes by source, jurisdiction and date; A material decision may require clarification and specialized advice.
Next step
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