No matter what’s happening in the world, there are always challenges to navigate when you’re a financial planner.
From evolving market dynamics to stringent regulatory standards and rising customer expectations, there’s a lot to combine with the day job.
But amid these pressures is a powerful, yet often underutilised, tool that can offer the clarity, direction, and enhancement businesses need – the independent business review.
An independent business review (or the ‘business excellence review’ as we call it) is a comprehensive audit or analysis conducted by an external party. It offers a fresh, unbiased, and objective assessment of the firm's operations and overall health.
This outside perspective can be incredibly valuable as it examines areas that internal stakeholders might unintentionally overlook due to familiarity, entrenched practices, or corporate blind spots.
It can act as a mirror reflecting the firm's reality, emphasising its strengths, and casting a light on areas that need attention and improvement. It can cut through layers of internal assumptions to offer insights grounded in empirical data and a wider industry perspective.
Where should you start?
We recommend starting with a gap analysis. This can offer a number of game-changing benefits. The idea is to gain a deep dive into a company's operations, strategies and processes, helping pinpoint inefficiencies, gaps, inconsistencies, or unexplored opportunities.
A gap analysis can unlock various facets such as workflow management, time and diary management, team skills, and leadership effectiveness.
By starting in this way, you can help identify potential bottlenecks that may be hindering productivity, growth and innovation.
Creating a map
With a clear understanding of where the company stands, you can then map out a path to reach your desired goals. Whether that’s sustainability, scalability, or saleability.
This can also help to foster clarity around the company's purpose, and help create alignment among team members, guiding them towards shared objectives. A detailed plan of action can help you formulate a robust, realistic, and results-oriented set of actions to achieve these goals.
It can also be of value to clients - reviewing your business shows your commitment to openness. It demonstrates a proactive stance towards accountability, a desire for continuous improvement, and a dedication to meeting the highest professional standards.
It can cultivate trust and confidence among stakeholders too.
Frequency
Just like regular health check-ups are vital for maintaining physical health, independent reviews should be conducted frequently (or when you have business changes e.g. new people, new regulatory policies, new systems etc) to ensure the sustained health and success of your firm.
However, a general rule of thumb would be to conduct these reviews annually. This allows you to keep your finger on the pulse, take stock of your performance and progress towards strategic goals. It can also help to detect any issues or inefficiencies early, enabling timely interventions and course corrections.
The value
In this profession, financial and reputational risks run high. This is where an independent review comes into its own. It can equip firms to keep up with changing regulatory demands, adapt to market trends, manage risks effectively, and maintain their competitive edge.
Regular reviews can provide insights that firms can leverage to design effective risk management strategies, ensure compliance with regulations, and make informed decisions that drive growth and profitability.
The journey to business excellence begins with understanding where you stand and knowing where you want to go. We’ve already helped many firms to excel in this way. Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more.