Task 2
Strategic Planning
Understanding all aspects of the company.
Here is the background information on your task
Our knowledge of our clients is the central element in a successful audit.
We can only confirm with adequate certainty that the annual financial statements comply with the law and the articles of association in all material aspects if we understand the operating environment, the organisation and the processes.
To systematically analyse this information on a client, it is assembled into a business analysis framework (BAF). The BAF covers the following aspects of a business:
- Market/environment (state of competition, macroeconomic environment, regulatory environment)
- Strategy (targets, organisational structure, management, IT)
- Value drivers/activities (customers, innovation, employees, brands, reputation)
- Financial performance (assets, financial position and results of operations, risk situation, budgets, accounting principles)
Here is your task
The BAF is completed now. This and the annual financial statements provide a certain amount of known information about the client. But we need more. Kevin is working on a presentation for the client and need your input to inform the client about the next steps.
Prepare some PowerPoint slides to answer Kevins questions:
- What other internal and external sources are there from which you can learn more about the client?
- How do we gather this data?
This experience is self-paced. Anyway, Kevin will approach the client in 1 hour and needs your valuable input. We recommend you spend no more than that completing this task.
