Mergers and acquisitions carry risk, for the parties involved and their investors, but also for those involved in the due diligence process.

The recent ruling against Dr Mike Lynch and Sushovan Hussain over the sale of Autonomy Systems Limited (Autonomy) to Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HP) came after one of the most expensive civil fraud cases in UK history. It shines a light on some of the potential ramifications from failing to identify a company’s true financial position and attempting to conceal it from potential investors.

The judgment follows the $45m (£34m) settlement between HP and Deloitte in 2016 and the record fine of £15m (plus costs of £5.6m) handed to Deloitte by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in September 2020.