The method

How the engine works.

The engine behind the Vendor Exception Memo: how organizations are resolved, how records are reconciled, and what the review library covers. The memo is the deliverable; this is the machinery.

How it works

Three moves from an organization to a review you can defend.

FIG 01

Resolve the organization

Match names, EINs, registry numbers, addresses, and jurisdictions so each record attaches to the right entity, never to a similar name.

FIG 02

Reconcile the primary record

Compare the same facts across filings, audits, registries, court records, procurement history, and government payments.

FIG 03

Prioritize human review

Return sourced, evidence-graded items with uncertainty, alternative explanations, and the next record that could resolve the question.

The due diligence library

Seventy ways to reconcile identity, records, relationships, and risk.

Thirty-one review indicators and thirty-nine research methods, refined across $11 billion of public spending. The methods stay ours. The six review families they support are below.

What it reviews · six families

  1. 01

    Identity & entity structure

    Names, identifiers, addresses, and organizational forms that require reconciliation.

  2. 02

    Relationships & conflicts

    Officers, directors, recipients, and counterparties connected across records.

  3. 03

    Cross-filing inconsistencies

    The same fact reported differently across filings, agencies, or time periods.

  4. 04

    Procurement & payment patterns

    Awards, amendments, payments, and thresholds that warrant document-level review.

  5. 05

    Standing & financial condition

    Status changes, filing gaps, liquidity signals, and other responsibility indicators.

  6. 06

    Governance & independence

    Roles and professional relationships that may require additional context.

See the evidence trail · a real case

Follow one organization across relationships, payments, and filings.

A real public-record investigation from its evidence file. Click any card to inspect the organization, relationship, or primary record behind it.

Fig 04 · entity graph: Conduit Foundationclick a card
82% rev · $18.5M$1.48M · undisclosedED / signercontrols (family)prepares & auditsleases · $140.5KQ28a = YESQ1 = NOOperator (name on file)Main operatorConduit FoundationConduit nonprofit · 0 employeesConsulting FirmFor-profit · officer-controlledAccountancyPreparer AND auditorExecutive DirectorSigns for the Conduit Foundation · controls the Consulting FirmBoard Member (landlord)Leases property to the Conduit FoundationFederal Form 990Schedule L · Q28a = YESYESState RRF-1Part B Q1 = NONO82% rev · $18.5M$1.48M · undisclosedED / signercontrols (family)prepares & auditsleases · $140.5KQ28a = YESQ1 = NOOperator (name on file)Main operatorConduit FoundationConduit nonprofit · 0 employeesConsulting FirmFor-profit · officer-controlledAccountancyPreparer AND auditorExecutive DirectorSigns for the Conduit Foundation · controls the Consulting FirmBoard Member (landlord)Leases property to the Conduit FoundationFederal Form 990Schedule L · Q28a = YESYESState RRF-1Part B Q1 = NONO
Examined & clearedOpen leadPrimary recordContradiction

Source:hand-curated evidence file for the Operator / Conduit Foundation matter (San Francisco), built from the framework-rerun survivors and the 2026 forensic review. The Operator's own books were examined and cleared; the open leads concern the conduit nonprofit and its disclosures. Party names withheld on this public page; full identities and the underlying records are available on email request, no call required. Nothing here asserts wrongdoing by any individual.

The part most tools hide

It also tells you who it did not flag.

Of 231 entities examined, 42 were cleared on the record. That ledger ships with the work.

  • CLEAREDOperator (name on file)EIN EIN on file

    Own books examined: clean unmodified audits, $0 provable misuse, growing net assets.

  • CLEAREDCompetitive bench primes (BART)EIN N/A

    Conflict-of-interest scan returned CLEAR against the awardee set.

  • CLEARED~30 further entitiesEIN various

    Examined across the 22 investigations and affirmatively cleared: the full list ships with the engagement.