AI Investment Risk Audit Kit - InsightStream

🎯 AI Investment Risk Audit Kit

From InsightStream: AI, Biz & Tech

Assess vendor risks, stress-test budgets, and build contingency plans

Circular Financing Detector

Identify vendor-investor loops that create financial risk in your AI supply chain. ℹ️ Circular financing occurs when your vendor is funded by investors who also buy from that vendor, creating artificial demand and masks true business fundamentals.

Vendor 1

Vendor Name

Red Flags Checklist

Major investor is also a major customer (e.g., Microsoft invests in OpenAI and is largest customer)

Customer purchases contingent on equity stake or board seat

Revenue heavily concentrated (>40%) with investor-customers

Unusual payment terms (e.g., credits, equity, future capacity instead of cash)

Cross-ownership in supply chain (Vendor A owns part of Vendor B, who supplies Vendor A)

Not profitable despite high revenue (e.g., >$1B revenue but negative cash flow)

Funding rounds at unrealistic valuations relative to competitors

Limited financial transparency (no public filings, audits, or independently verified metrics)

Notes (optional)

Budget Stress Test Calculator

Model how AI cost increases or market corrections affect your budget and which initiatives get cut.

Current Annual AI Spend

List Your AI Initiatives ℹ️

Initiative Name

Annual Cost ($)

Priority Tier

Vendor Diversification Scorecard

Rate your primary AI infrastructure providers on financial stability, ownership transparency, and strategic risk.

📊 Rating Guide

Financial Stability: 1 = Unprofitable & high burn rate | 5 = Profitable with strong cash reserves
Ownership Transparency: 1 = Private, no disclosures | 5 = Public company with audited financials
Revenue Concentration: 1 = >60% from one customer | 5 = Well-diversified customer base
Geographic Redundancy: 1 = Single region/data center | 5 = Multi-region with failover
Tech Stack Independence: 1 = Locked to one provider | 5 = Multi-cloud or provider-agnostic
Contract Flexibility: 1 = Multi-year lock-in | 5 = Monthly or quarterly terms

Primary Vendor Name

Financial Stability

Ownership Transparency

Revenue Concentration

Geographic Redundancy

Tech Stack Independence

Contract Flexibility

Contingency Plan Builder

Document your backup plan if your primary vendor faces financial distress or service disruption.

Alternative Vendor #1

Alternative Vendor #2

Migration Timeline (if primary vendor fails)

Critical Dependencies (What breaks if vendor goes down?)

Degraded Mode Plan (What can continue without AI?)

Communication Plan (Who to notify if crisis occurs?)

💡 Next Steps After Completing This Audit:

Share results with CFO/CTO for budget reallocation discussions
Schedule vendor review meetings for high-risk relationships
Update procurement policies to flag circular financing patterns
Run quarterly stress tests as market conditions change
Document and test your contingency plans annually

🎯 AI Investment Risk Audit Kit

Circular Financing Detector

Circular Financing Risk Assessment

Budget Stress Test Calculator

Budget Stress Test Results

Vendor Diversification Scorecard

Vendor Diversification Score

Contingency Plan Builder

🎯 Welcome to Your AI Investment Risk Audit Kit

Circular Financing Detector

Circular Financing Risk Assessment

Budget Stress Test Calculator

Budget Stress Test Results

Vendor Diversification Scorecard

Vendor Diversification Score

Contingency Plan Builder