Determine which facts the statements establish and which remain unclear, such as expense categories, liabilities, staffing or customer concentration. Request relevant supporting records rather than assuming deposits equal revenue or profit. The evidence needed depends on the actual business and case.
Reconcile the financial picture
Compare the statements with available accounts, contracts and explanations. Identify transfers or other amounts that are not ordinary business receipts. A clear reconciliation can improve the plan, but it should not turn unexplained entries into invented income or conceal unresolved questions.
Work backwards from the element to the document that settles it, because each element has its own custodian. Passports and citizenship records answer the investor's treaty nationality; the share register and certificates answer the enterprise's, and financial statements answer neither. The closing statement, escrow instructions and proof of transfer are what show capital irrevocably committed and exposed to loss in a proportion substantial against the cost of acquiring this business. The shareholders' agreement, board minutes or management contract are what show the investor will develop and direct it. Payroll registers, employment filings, signed customer agreements and the receivables ledger are what show a real, operating enterprise with more than marginal capacity. Bank statements show cash movement, and only that.
Hypothetical example: An orthotics workshop buyer receives eighteen months of statements showing steady deposits, then asks separately for the last two business tax filings, the payroll register for the same months, and the fabrication agreements with the two clinics behind most of those deposits. The filings show a materially smaller net figure, because a shareholder loan had been cycling through the account. That is a document decision rather than a dispute: the return governs earnings, the statement governs cash, and the file should record which one supports which claim, and note in writing any record that could not be obtained.