Turn the deal thesis into diligence tests

The move: do not diligence the company; diligence the claim the buyer is about to underwrite. A deal thesis is usually too broad to test directly. "Revenue is resilient" or "margins can expand" sounds useful, but it does not tell an analyst what to inspect. A MECE issue tree converts that statement into branches that are separate enough to avoid double counting and complete enough to avoid missing the important failure modes. In financial due diligence, useful branches usually include revenue durability, margin quality, working-capital behavior, debt-like obligations, and forecast achievability. Each branch should end in a testable question. Revenue…

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