Strategic planners lead the attack

Abstract

This article offers advice on organizing an accounting firm's strategic plans. To navigate changing regulatory, professional and marketplace patterns and get maximum growth with minimum waste, a firm needs a recipe for action--that is, a strategic plan. No one plan will work for all firms, but all strategic plans encompass clear initiatives designed to move an organization in a particular, perhaps new, direction. A strategic plan's function is to logically link the tasks, relationships and schedule to achieve a business goal. Before setting up a plan, one must convene a partners meeting to lay the groundwork. At it management needs to frame and find answers to a range of questions. The next step involves clarifying the firm's mission and values. To develop information about a firm's current situation, one must look at the broadest factors first, then, in stages, narrow the focus to specific firm issues. Initially, the political, economic, social, technological, human resource and regulatory forces affecting the profession must be considered.