CFO Perspective: How Do I Prepare a Strategic Plan?

CFO Perspective: How Do I Prepare a Strategic Plan?

Define your business vision, mission, and values

A succinct business vision should clearly and concisely state the long-term aspirations and purpose of your business. Clearly state what your business aims to achieve and what sets it apart from competitors. Aim for a vision statement that is easy to remember and communicates your business's purpose effectively. Your vision should also inspire and motivate both your employees and customers.

Conduct a SWOT analysis

Assess your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to determine what areas to focus on in your plan. This will help you build upon your strengths and take advantage of market opportunities while being mindful of your weaknesses and external threats that must be addressed.

Set SMART goals

Define specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals for your business. If you don't have specific thresholds to evaluate progress against your goals, then you'll need to get more detailed.

Identify key success factors

Key success factors (KSFs) are the critical elements that determine the success of your business. Determine the critical factors that will contribute to the success of your business and prioritize them by researching the trends and best practices in your industry to determine what drives success. You must also study your competitors to understand their strengths and weaknesses and how they achieve success. Consider the interplay between different elements of your business, such as finances, operations, marketing, and customer satisfaction and think about what your customers value and what will keep them coming back to your business.

Evaluate your strategic alternatives

Strategic alternatives are the different options a business has to achieve its goals and objectives. Here's how to evaluate your business's strategic alternatives:

  1. Review your current strategy: Understand your current approach and why it has or has not been successful.
  2. Consider a range of options: Brainstorm a variety of potential strategies that could help you achieve your goals, and consider the pros and cons of each.
  3. Seek external perspectives: Consult with experts, industry leaders, and stakeholders to get a fresh perspective and new ideas.
  4. Evaluate and select the best options: Weigh the potential impact and feasibility of each alternative and select the ones that align best with your goals and resources.

Develop a target market and growth strategy

Identifying your target market is a crucial step in developing a successful marketing and sales strategy. Define your product and clearly understand the features, benefits, and target audience for your product or service. You should also study your industry and market trends to gain a deeper understanding of your target audience and their needs. Look at the demographics, behaviors, and motivations of your current customers to gain insights into your target market. Then you can develop detailed profiles of your ideal customers to help you better understand their needs and behaviors. By understanding ideal customer profiles, you can divide your target market into smaller groups based on common characteristics, such as demographics, behaviors, or interests. Finally, you should evaluate the potential of each segment and prioritize them based on factors such as size, growth potential, and profitability.

Create operating, capital and financial plans

An operating budget is a financial plan that outlines the expected revenues and expenses for a specific period, usually a year. Look at your company's financial records from the past year to identify trends and make predictions for the upcoming budget period then project your expected revenue based on historical data, industry trends, and any new initiatives or changes in your business. List all the expenses necessary to run your business, including operational expenses, such as salaries, rent, and utilities, as well as one-time expenses, such as capital expenditures or equipment purchases. Review the budget regularly to see if actual results are in line with projections and make any necessary adjustments.

Implement and monitor the plan

Put your plan into action, and regularly assess and adjust it as needed to ensure it remains relevant and effective. Schedule regular check-ins to track progress against your goals and review your business plan by using data and analytics tools to monitor key metrics and track progress over time. If there are any discrepancies between actual results and projections, identify the root cause and take action to address the issue.

Establish metrics to evaluate and adjust the plan

Use operational reviews to determine if your business is performing as planned. An operational review is a comprehensive evaluation of a company's operations and processes to identify areas for improvement and increase efficiency. Determine the specific areas of your business that you want to evaluate, such as production processes, customer service, or supply chain management. Look for areas where processes are not running smoothly, or where resources are being used inefficiently. Ensure that you involve key stakeholders in the review process, including employees, customers, and suppliers, to gather their insights and feedback.

Your CFO can help you harness the benefits of strategic planning

By setting clear goals and strategies, a strategic plan provides focus and direction for your business, and holds you and your team accountable for results. A strategic plan can provide a framework for making informed decisions, by helping you to prioritize resources, allocate budgets, and evaluate opportunities. You can better understand your market and competitors, and take proactive steps to differentiate your business and maintain a competitive advantage. Moreover, a well-designed strategic plan can help you to improve your financial performance by reducing costs, increasing revenue, and maximizing profitability. A strategic plan demonstrates your commitment to the long-term success of your business and can increase confidence among stakeholders, including employees, investors, and customers.

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Rebecca Scott
Web Designer

Rebecca is a Web Designer at BluePrint CPAs. She is a graduate of St. Clair College’s Internet Applications and Web Development Program and has worked as a freelance web designer before joining the BluePrint team.

BluePrint CPAs is a management consultancy that simplifies digital, financial and talent strategies. Our team helps entrepreneurs and their teams grow profitable and modern businesses.

Kit Moore, BluePrint CPAs President & Lead Tax Advisor
Kit Moore, CPA, CA
President & Lead Tax Advisor

Kit Moore, is an entrepreneur that simplifies digital strategy for other business owners. The team at BluePrint CPAs can assist you with web design, development, analytics, management systems and, more importantly, your overall business strategy. The toughest part of digital transformation is re-training your team - and we have pros to help with that as well.

BluePrint CPAs is a management consultancy that simplifies digital, financial and talent strategies. Our team helps entrepreneurs and their teams grow profitable and modern businesses.

Kit Moore, BluePrint CPAs President & Lead Tax Advisor
Kit Moore, CPA, CA
President & Lead Tax Advisor

Kit Moore, is an entrepreneur that simplifies tax and financial strategy for other business owners. The team at BluePrint CPAs can assist you with financial technology, tax strategies, mergers & acquisitions, succession & exit planning and, more importantly, your overall business strategy.

BluePrint CPAs is a management consultancy that simplifies digital, financial and talent strategies. Our team helps entrepreneurs and their teams grow profitable and modern businesses.

Joe Marra, MBA
Senior Associate, Strategy Consulting

Joe is a Senior Associate, Strategy Consulting at BluePrint CPAs. He is a recent graduate of the MBA Program at the Schulich School of Business and has most recently worked for Bayer Inc and the Ford Motor Company of Canada. His experience in marketing, sales, and human resources spans various industries including hospitality, logistics, life sciences and automotive manufacturing. Joe loves working with entrepreneurs to develop their digital strategies and help them grow their business.

BluePrint CPAs is a management consultancy that simplifies digital, financial and talent strategies. Our team helps entrepreneurs and their teams grow profitable and modern businesses.