Due Diligence for the Financial Professional

Due Diligence for the Financial Professional. By L. Burke Files. Published by Aegis Journal; available from ASIS,www.asisonline.org; 472 pages; $68 (ASIS members), $75 (nonmembers).

Security professionals should not be put off by the title’s reference to financial professionals. This book, which covers an important issue, can help anyone responsible for fraud prevention and intellectual property protection.

It is critical to conduct due diligence in many areas of asset protection to prevent significant loss and possible negative legal ramifications. The author emphasizes that due diligence is a process, not something one completes through a generic checklist. Suggestions are provided on how to approach the process, where and how to gather information, and how to effectively filter the information that’s collected.

Discussions range from conducting due diligence in the art world to performing background investigations to completing asset recovery. The book also includes checklists to assist in assessing various kinds of transactions.

The author is careful to state that what is presented is a beginning point and that actual due diligence assessments may require a more tailored strategy. The author also includes enlightening case histories of due diligence investigations.

This in-depth, practical guide to due diligence is highly recommended to protection professionals with an interest in the subject. The book would also make an excellent university textbook for courses addressing due diligence and critical information protection.

Reviewer: Paul D. Barnard, CPP, CISM (Certified Information Security Manager), is a security manager for the Department of Defense. He is a member of ASIS International. The opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and do not imply a view of the U.S. government or any other organization.