Consistent with the objectives, scope, and our understanding of any assignment, we design our approach and methodology to achieve the objectives in the most cost efficient manner while providing an informed basis for offering constructive advice to the client.
All our assignments begin with a full assessment and understanding of the clients’ business and operations. This allows us to provide constructive suggestions for improving clients’ business strategies, management information, and accounting operations, procedures and controls.
Our approach concentrates on the environment in which the client operates and the risks posed by the assignment. This encompasses general and economic trends, the interrelationship between the client’s units and the environment in which it operates, and various factors that impact the operations. The consulting team is then expected to appropriately adjust the nature, timing and extent of our procedures, based on the understanding of the client’s unit’s functions.
Our methodology consists of three phases, planning, execution and reporting each phase has its different contents depending on the nature of the assignment but in general it can be illustrated as follows:
The objective of this phase will be to produce an understanding of the client’s business, understanding the nature of the problem, identify exactly the scope of work and have a program of work that identify the detailed steps of work.
- We carry out a detailed review of the client’s activities including his operational, management and financial systems to develop a thorough and complete understanding of his activities.
- We familiarize the consulting team with key management personnel of each unit within the client’s company.
- We establish a common ground with key management personnel on the current work environment and future requirements and expectations. Disclose any administrative and financial constraints by interviewing key management personnel, department heads, users and other parties as appropriate to identify the overall scope of the project, statement of objectives, critical business issues, description, benefits, deliverables, constraints, assumptions, approach, personnel, flow chart of the project, budget and risk assessment.
- We develop a working paper orientation for conducting the work so that all the work is documented in a manner that all the necessary information is documented to support the recommendations.
- We complete a detailed systems review and prepare the associated work program for each area to be covered (purchasing, sales, inventory, marketing, etc.) This will include a detailed analysis of existing activities, forms used and documents.
- We illustrate the operations in flow diagrams and provide detailed descriptions of the processes and the methods in which they are performed. We identify the strengths and weaknesses in each step for each studied operation.
The objective of this phase is to implement the assignment by analyzing and evaluating the gathered information and come out with the conclusions and the recommendations in form of reports, systems or any other reporting form depending upon the assignment nature.
The objectives of this phase are to:
- Classify process deficiencies to categories such as: Inadequate, redundant, not needed, delaying, improper design and use of documents and records, inadequate segregation in employees’ duties, improper authorization of transactions, lack of independent checks of performance and inaccurate…etc.
- Recommend improvements that can be achieved in both the near and long term.
- Provide recommendations that are flexible, efficient and effective in providing accurate and complete information to assist in decision-making.
- Suggest new processes or redesign currently used processes
- Design an action plan (Work Plan) for the implementation of these recommendations and suggestions.
- Conduct “change management” initiative to implement recommendations approved by the management
- Hold various meetings for example: fact-finding, interviews, closeout meetings and so on to facilitate the work process.
- Discuss the recommendations with the line management and get their approval or response for each recommendation.
The final stage is delivering the output of our assignment. We usually design a plan to test and implement the system and to share with the client this experience to make any necessary amendments. We usually give a maintenance period cover of three to six months of implementation.
- We carry out discussions with the Senior Management of our recommendations and documenting their responses.
- We prepare a draft report and address the report as per the agreed line of reporting.
- When required, we attend further meetings to ensure that the draft report is clearly understood.
- We define business requirements that would be used by the system’s implementers in developing the System Requirements.
- We identify sub-projects and define the tangible activities and decisions surrounding the project.
- We develop test plans based on the documented business requirements to enable the testing of the system
- We develop a user manual and flow cycle and schedules.
- We develop educational plans describing requirements, alternatives and schedules.
- We oversee the implementation team of the new system.
- We attend the final exit meeting with the top management to present the final report and the results of the implementation.
The quality control manager joins the team in all phases, by reviewing and giving the recommendations on all phases. His work covers the procedures followed by the team, working papers and methods of work to assure the best professional services.