Strategic clarity
- Ambition, strategic choices and trade-offs.
- The assumptions and evidence behind the current direction.
Strategy Audit
Is your strategy clear enough to guide difficult decisions and focused enough to execute?
The Strategy Audit is a structured, independent review for senior leaders who need an objective view of whether their strategy is fit for purpose — and what to do next.
- Clarify what is working, unclear or missing.
- Identify the few actions that will restore strategic focus.
- Leave with a practical 30–60–90 day route forward.
A short, no-obligation exploratory conversation.
The problem
When a strategy exists but is not working hard enough.
Organisations can have plans, data and capable people yet still lack shared choices, leadership alignment or an executable set of priorities. The symptoms often look familiar:
- Leaders use the same language but mean different things.
- Too many initiatives are labelled strategic.
- Important assumptions about customers, competitors, regulation or technology remain untested.
- Teams cannot explain which priorities should win when resources conflict.
- Reporting tracks activity but not strategic outcomes.
The Strategy Audit establishes what is actually preventing progress before you invest in another major programme.
What the audit examines
Six areas that determine whether strategy can do its job.
Leadership alignment
- Whether leaders share an understanding of priorities, risks and decisions still to be made.
- Whether the strategy can be communicated consistently to the board and organisation.
Execution readiness
- The connection between strategy, priorities, investment, governance, ownership and measures.
- The principal risks and blockers to delivery.
How it works
A proportionate, three-step process.
The exact scope is tailored to your organisation and can be delivered remotely, in person or through a combination.
- ReviewReview the current strategy, relevant plans, performance information and major change activity.
- ListenSpeak with the sponsor and selected leaders or stakeholders to identify agreement, uncertainty and practical blockers.
- Diagnose and debriefAssess the evidence, produce a concise findings summary and discuss the most proportionate next step.
Standard scope
The standard audit covers one business unit, remote delivery, a sponsor briefing, review of the core strategy, planning, performance and governance material, up to eight targeted stakeholder interviews, and one senior read-out. It is designed to answer the central question without turning the diagnosis into a long consulting programme.
The fixed fee is £9,500 plus VAT. Additional interviews, extensive market research, travel, facilitation and implementation support are not assumed; where they would materially improve the answer, they are discussed and scoped separately before any commitment is made.
What you receive
A bounded set of practical outputs.
- 01
Two-page findings summary
What is working, what is getting in the way, the key risk and the opportunity.
- 02
Priority actions
A focused set of actions to improve clarity, alignment and execution.
- 03
30–60–90 day plan outline
A practical route from diagnosis to decisions and mobilisation.
- 04
Sponsor or leadership-team debrief
An independent discussion of findings and recommended next steps.
Strategy Audit
Findings summary
What is working What is getting in the way REDACTED EXAMPLEStart by testing whether the audit fits the question you need to answer.
Discuss a Strategy AuditThe outcome
What changes as a result.
- A shared view of the most consequential strategic questions.
- Greater confidence about what to prioritise, stop or test.
- A clearer evidence base for leadership and board decisions.
- An owned route into strategy refresh, focused workshops, execution mobilisation or internal action.
Who it is for
For leaders facing consequential change.
The Strategy Audit is for senior leaders in mid-sized financial-services organisations facing regulation, digital or AI change, consolidation, changing customer expectations, growth pressure or a loss of strategic focus.
It is not a generic business-plan review or a substitute for management ownership. It is a focused diagnostic for leaders prepared to make clearer choices.
The audit is a front door, not an automatic route into a larger engagement. It may be enough to enable your team to act. Where further support would add value, the recommended next step might be a Strategy Discovery Sprint, a facilitated workshop, a broader strategy engagement or Fractional Chief Strategy Officer support. See all ways to work together.
Practical questions
Before we begin.
How long does an audit take?
The standard audit is designed to be completed in one focused working week once the agreed material is available and interviews are scheduled. A broader or in-person scope may require longer; the timetable is agreed before work starts.
Who needs to be involved?
There is one accountable sponsor, supported by a small, selected group of leaders or stakeholders who can speak to the strategy, decisions and delivery.
What material is needed?
Usually the current strategy, relevant plans, performance information, governance material and an overview of major change activity. The initial conversation identifies what is useful.
Does the audit commit us to further work?
No. The findings are designed to stand alone. Your team may act on them internally, and any further support is a separate decision.
A clear next step
Start with an independent view.
If you need an independent view of whether your strategy is fit for the future — and a practical route forward if it is not — start with a Strategy Audit.
Discuss a Strategy Audit