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Business South Endorsed - Due Diligence Questionnaire

Welcome to the Business South Endorsed Programme
By completing the Business South Endorsed process demonstrates your organisation’s commitment to excellence, integrity, and good business practice. Participation in this programme signals to customers, partners, and the wider Otago and Southland communities that your business upholds recognised standards of quality and accountability. Endorsed businesses stand out as trusted leaders within our regional network, setting the benchmark for professionalism and contributing to a stronger, more resilient business community.

We invite you to complete the Expression of Interest (EOI) to begin your endorsement journey under the Business South Accelerator Programme. Through this process, your organisation gains visibility, credibility, and access to enhanced opportunities for growth and collaboration within the Business South ecosystem.

Confidentiality
We respect and protect your information. All details provided through this questionnaire will be treated as strictly confidential and used solely for the purpose of assessing eligibility for Business South Endorsed. Business South will not disclose, share, or publish any information supplied without the applicant’s prior written consent, except where required by law. Data will be securely stored and managed in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and Business South’s Privacy Policy.
Section A – Business details
1.Business name:
2.Trading name (if different):
3.Registered address:
4.Contact person (name & role):
5.Number of years trading:
6.Number of employees (FTE):
7.Industry sector
8.Do you have at least two years of operation and locally based staff?
Section B – Governance & Ethical Practice
9.Does your board or senior management maintain documented policies on business ethics, conflicts of interest and corporate governance?
10.Do you have a documented Code of Conduct (or equivalent) for staff and leadership?
11.How often are ethics/conflict of interest breaches reported or reviewed?
12.Are your key business decisions and processes transparent to relevant stakeholders (e.g., suppliers, customers, staff)?
1 – Not transparent
2 – Minimally transparent
3 – Moderately transparent
4 – Mostly transparent
5 – Fully transparent
13.Do you undertake periodic external or internal review/audit of governance practices?
14.Please attach or provide URL to your governance/ethics policy documentation.
Section C – Financial Health & Risk Management
15.Do you maintain up-to-date financial statements (profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow) prepared by qualified professionals?
16.Have you had a clean audit or review report in the past 12 months?
17.Do you operate with sufficient liquidity and meet your supplier and creditor obligations on time?
18.Have you identified key financial risks (e.g., cost escalation, supply chain disruption, currency exposure) and documented mitigation plans?
19.Do you maintain a documented insurance/risk management programme (e.g., business interruption, liability, cyber, health & safety)?
20.Please attach your latest annual financial statements (or provide link).
Section D – People, Culture & Health & Safety
21.Do you have a documented health & safety policy and programme, in compliance with relevant legislation/regulations?
22.How often is your health & safety programme reviewed?
23.How many lost-time injuries occurred in your business over the past 12 months?
24.Do you have documented onboarding and ongoing training for staff (including health & safety, diversity/equity, professional development)?
25.Do you have a formal staff engagement system (e.g., survey, feedback, exit interview) and take action on results?
26.Do you have documented policies around diversity, equity and inclusion?
27.Are staff well informed of business values, performance expectations and customer service standards? Scale
1 – Not informed at all
2 – Minimally informed
3 – Moderately informed
4 – Well informed
5 – Fully informed
28.Please attach your latest health & safety annual report or summary.
Section E – Customer / Market / Quality & Reliability
29.Do you have documented customer service standards or guarantee of quality for your products or services?
30.How do you measure customer satisfaction (e.g., survey, complaints tracking, Net Promoter Score)?
31.Over the past 12 months, how many customer complaints did you receive and how many led to remedial action?
32.Do you have a documented business continuity (or supply-chain resilience) plan for disruptions?
33.How would you rate your business’s reliability of delivery / service consistency?
1 – Poor
2 - Fair
3 - Good
4 - Very Good
5 - Excellent
34.Please provide links or attachments for any external customer feedback, reviews or quality certification.
Section F – Community Risk, Sustainability & Reputation
35.Does your business have documented commitments or policies around sustainability (environmental impact, carbon footprint, waste, resource efficiency)?
36.Do you monitor and report on your environmental or social impact (e.g., community programmes, charitable give-back, staff volunteering)?
37.Have you experienced any significant reputational risk event in the past three years (e.g., major social media backlash, regulatory sanction, major complaint from community)?
38.How would you rate the business’s relationship with its local community, suppliers and stakeholders?
1 - Needs Improvement
2 – Fair
3 – Good
4 – Very good
5 – Excellent
39.Does your business actively support local employment, apprenticeships, training or local supply-chain partnerships?
40.Please attach or link to your sustainability / community engagement report (if applicable).
Section G – Declaration & Verification
41.I declare that the information provided in this application is true and correct, and I consent to any verification checks by Business South (or its nominated agent) on the statements and attachments.
42.I agree to maintain the standards required for endorsement and to submit to an annual renewal process.
43.Please provide the names and contact details of two business references (suppliers or customers) whom we may contact for verification.
44.Reference 1: Name, Company, Role, Email, Phone
45.Reference 2: Name, Company, Role, Email, Phone
46.Are you willing to permit Business South to display your business in its endorsed business directory and for you to use the endorsed badge in your marketing materials?
47.Please upload any additional documents you wish to submit to support your application (optional).