When an investor acquires a professional services business, much of the value sits in things that are difficult to see on a balance sheet. The expertise of its people, the strength of its client relationships, the way it operates and its ability to grow.

Increasingly, technology plays an important part in all of them.

A private equity investor was considering the acquisition of a professional services business and wanted an independent assessment of its technology capabilities.

The questions went beyond whether its systems worked. Could the technology support the business's ambitions? Where were the risks? What investment might be required? And how could developments in AI change the opportunities available to the business?

We were brought in to examine the technology, challenge the assumptions and help the investor understand what it was buying.

But the interesting part came afterwards.

The initial diligence developed into an ongoing relationship with the company's leadership. The questions were no longer primarily about the risks associated with an acquisition. They were about the choices facing the business as it looked ahead.

Where should it invest? Which technology capabilities would matter most? How should it approach AI? And how could technology help the business become more competitive and valuable?

We continued advising the leadership team as it considered those decisions, bringing together an understanding of technology with practical experience of running and developing professional services businesses.

It's an important distinction.

Diligence answers whether a business is worth buying. With AI changing what clients will pay for and how the work gets done, the harder questions come after the deal: which parts of the business to invest in, and which to rethink.