what is vetting 
vetting is the process of thoroughly investigating an individual company or other entity before deciding to go forward with a joint project a background review is an example of a vetting process for a potential employee once the vetting process is concluded a well informed hiring decision can be made managers investors and analysts use such a process to identify worthwhile investments through a process known as due diligence due diligence requires a close examination of a firm s financial records key personnel and growth potential before entering into an investment or proposed transaction with that party once fully vetted the investment or deal may proceed understanding vettingthe verb to vet has its origins in 19th century british slang a horse was thoroughly vetted by a veterinarian before being allowed to race so a patient undergoing an examination could be said to be vetted by a medical doctor in modern business usage vetting has come to mean the process of examining a person or company for soundness and integrity while vetting may be time and cost intensive the price paid for not vetting could be even higher in the long run examples of vettingexamples of vetting appear frequently in the context of business and investing for instance a company s board of directors will thoroughly vet a candidate for company ceo or other top management positions before making a hiring decision or a business will properly vet a potential major supplier in order to determine whether it has conducted its business efficiently and honestly in the past as part of doing their due diligence an investment adviser will vet a potential investment for its track record management quality and growth potential before recommending it to clients the word vetting is also used informally in many other situations outside of finance a refugee seeking asylum is vetted as part of their application process candidates for government security clearance are vetted to make sure they don t have checkered pasts a lawyer vets a contract to find any potential pitfalls in the fine print these are just a few examples of vetting vetting processa vetting process might begin with a confirmation of facts is the job candidate s resume accurate in describing all the skills and experience that are claimed does a contractor called worldwide shipping have actual experience shipping worldwide the process continues with the verification of information every degree award or certification claimed by a candidate is checked for accuracy whether it is a person a company or an investment that is being vetted the process gets deeper and potentially more intrusive from this point on credit history checks criminal background checks and personal interviews with past and current associates are all fair game in the vetting process the high cost of vettingwhile vetting is important to make sure quality options are chosen and poor options are discarded the process can also be time consuming and expensive as such a balance must often be struck between the costs and benefits of vetting the average organization in the u s spends about 4 700 and 36 to 42 days to fill a position with a fully vetted and qualified candidate 1heavy reliance on vetting by governments around the world has raised some concerns related to both the high cost and the long delays they can cause in 2018 the u s government launched trusted workforce 2 0 which seeks to reform the federal government s personnel vetting system it is the most far reaching reform to date and one of its key aims is to reduce the time it takes to bring new hires on board 2some brokerages provide an approved list of pre vetted investments or funds that they may recommend to clients 