Commercial Due Diligence Certification

The Commercial Due Diligence Certification is a free advanced-level, 25-minute skill test from Science of Apps. It tests commercial due diligence for private equity and corporate buyers — scoping the key buying questions, market sizing and growth drivers, competitive position and market share, customer research through interviews and surveys, pricing power and retention, testing the management business plan, building an independent market model, assessing risks and value creation levers, and writing the red-flag and full CDD report — written to Bain, McKinsey, Porter, Bessemer and ILPA sources for 2026 and 2027. Score 70% or more on its 25 questions to earn a verifiable Commercial Due Diligence certificate (SOA-CDD). Every question is based on published standards and research — including Bain insights (Bain & Company), The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy (Porter, 2008) (Harvard Business Review), Interviewing at McKinsey (McKinsey & Company) — and each answer is explained with its source.

Science of Apps offers a free Commercial Due Diligence Certification, written for 2026 and 2027. It tests scoping and market analysis, competitive position, customer research, business plan review and risks, value creation and reporting with 25 original scenario questions in all, each naming its published source; you get an instant score and a verifiable certificate with a credential ID you can add to LinkedIn.

Read the five skill areas on this page, then take the 25-minute test online — no fee, course or sign-up. You see every answer explained when you finish. Score 70% or more and you get a Commercial Due Diligence certificate straight away, on screen, as a PDF and by email, with a credential ID anyone can verify.

Yes. The questions are original scenarios written by Science of Apps, and each one is based on a public source you can read: Bain insights (Bain & Company); The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy (Porter, 2008) (Harvard Business Review); Interviewing at McKinsey (McKinsey & Company); Service Manual: User research (GOV.UK); Atlas: cloud and SaaS benchmarks (Bessemer Venture Partners); McKinsey Insights and research (McKinsey & Company). The source is shown under each question and linked in the answer review. Science of Apps doesn't copy questions from other tests.

Five skill areas with five questions each, drawn from a bank of 10 per area so a retake brings new questions: Scoping and Market Analysis (Key buying questions, Market sizing and Growth drivers); Competitive Position (Market share and benchmarking, Competitive advantage and Pricing power); Customer Research (Interviews and surveys, Retention and loyalty and Purchase criteria); Business Plan Review (Revenue bridge, Assumption testing and Independent case); Risks, Value Creation and Reporting (Red flags, Value creation plan and Report and ethics). Every question is an original scenario written to the 2026–2027 standard, with the published source named under it.

Strategy consultant working on private equity deals, Private equity associate or vice president, Corporate development professional, Transaction services or M&A adviser and MBA student recruiting for PE or consulting. It suits students at leading universities, career switchers and experienced professionals who want quick, verifiable proof of Commercial Due Diligence knowledge in 2026 and 2027.

MBB, Big 4 strategy and in-house strategy teams hire heavily from tier-1 campuses; these are the skills used day-to-day after the case interview. Passing earns a founder-signed Science of Apps certificate with a credential ID and QR code that recruiters can verify.

An independent assessment of a target company's market, competitive position, customers and business plan, used by buyers and lenders to decide whether to invest, what price to pay and what the value creation plan should be.

Financial due diligence focuses on the quality of historical earnings, working capital and debt. Commercial due diligence looks forward at market growth, competition, customer behaviour and whether the management plan's revenue assumptions are achievable.

Yes. The test is online, in English and free everywhere — people take it from India, the US, the UK, Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Your certificate is dated with your own local date and can be verified from anywhere at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/.

25 questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — with a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

We rate it Advanced: assumes years in the role or deep specialist knowledge. It has 25 scenario questions — 5 from each of 5 skill areas — and a 25-minute limit. You need 70% (18 of 25) to pass and 90% for distinction.

Nothing. There is no fee to take a test, to receive the certificate, to have it emailed or to verify it, and no sign-up.

On our server, not in your browser. The answers never reach the page until you submit, so a certificate can only be earned by passing. Each certificate gets a unique credential ID stored by Science of Apps.

You see your score for each area and every question with the correct answer and why, with the published source behind it. You can retake after 30 minutes, and the retake draws questions you haven't seen yet.

No. Every certificate is dated, so it always shows when you passed. Retake a test any time for a newer date or a higher score.

Yes. After you pass, Add to LinkedIn opens the Licenses & certifications form with the certificate name, Science of Apps as the issuer, the issue date, your credential ID and the verification link filled in. You can also download it as a PDF or PNG, and it's emailed to you as a PDF.

Every certificate has a credential ID and a QR code. Scanning it, or entering the ID at scienceofapps.com/certification/verify/, shows the holder's name, the certification, the score and the issue date from our records.

No. They are Science of Apps' own assessments of applied skill. They aren't issued by a university or standards body, and they work best alongside a portfolio that shows the skills in real work.